Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effects of super trawlers on the sustainability of coastal fishing communities in developing countries.

Assessments of the status of fisheries and their sustainability, including coastal fisheries in developing countries, are undertaken by national authorities and compiled periodically into regional assessments by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

DFID has provided support both bilaterally and through international organisations to strengthen the governance of fisheries in developing countries. This has included efforts to tackle illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in West Africa.