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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) support and (b) incentivise the adoption of (i) lower impact and (ii) highly selective fishing methods in UK waters; and whether he plans to reform the gear approval process to reduce barriers to innovation.

We strongly support the use of gear that is more selective and which lowers the environmental impacts. We have been promoting this through a number of routes, including fisheries funding, measures introduced through annual consultations and negotiations with the EU and other coastal states, and through our Fisheries Management Plan programme. The Seafish Industry Authority (“Seafish”) are currently looking at how to overcome barriers to the adoption of new gear. In order to achieve maximum conservation benefits, and to be in line with international best practice, it is crucial that any approval processes are robust and are based on the best available scientific evidence.