Fisheries: Marine Protected Areas

(asked on 22nd June 2020) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of supertrawler fishing on the UK’s offshore marine protected areas.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 30th June 2020

Marine protection is a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only.

The Common Fisheries Policy has restricted our ability to implement fisheries management measures within offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The Fisheries Bill proposes a new power to allow the introduction of measures for conservation purposes, both within our MPAs and more widely across English waters.

Not all fishing activities within MPAs will require management, only those likely to damage the designated features, such as trawling on the seabed. The Marine Management Organisation monitors activity to ensure fishing boats are complying with current rules, and will ensure compliance with new measures as they are introduced.

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