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 make it his policy to ban (a) bottom-trawling and (b) other bottom-towed fishing gear in all offshore Marine Protected Areas; and if he will make a statement.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a devolved competency and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

We have designated a comprehensive network of MPAs and are now focused on making sure they are properly protected. Using new powers provided by the Fisheries Act 2020, we have already introduced byelaws in the first four offshore sites to protect sensitive habitats and species from bottom-towed gear and other damaging fishing activity. A call for evidence relating to the next 13 offshore sites has also been published and we are aiming to have all 40 MPAs in English offshore waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024.