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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the (a) sustainability and (b) economic resilience of small-scale shellfish fisheries post-Brexit.

The Fisheries Act 2020 enshrines in law the Government’s commitment to sustainable fishing, including to produce Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) to ensure our stocks are being fished sustainably and the marine environment is protected.

Through FMPs we are working to further develop and implement effective, evidence-based management to deliver long-term sustainability of our important shellfish fisheries.

Once the new partnership with the EU is implemented, we expect the SPS Agreement will allow exports of undepurated Class B live bivalve molluscs from GB to the EU to resume.