Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will commit to annual reporting of bycatch reduction targets for sensitive species.

The UK Government funds a comprehensive and well-respected bycatch monitoring programme which provides essential observer data on incidents of sensitive species bycatch.

This programme reports annually on estimated rates of sensitive species bycatch in fisheries around the UK. The requirement to report annually will continue and will contribute to our assessment of bycatch reduction across a range of species.