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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) enforcement of the current illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing import controls.

The UK Government is strongly committed to preventing seafood caught from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing from entering the UK supply chain. Defra works closely with the Devolved Governments, Marine Management Organisation and Port Health Authorities to manage the risk of illegally caught fish entering the UK. For example, the UK maintains a strict ban on seafood imports from countries that have been identified as non-cooperative in tackling IUU fishing as well as seafood caught by vessels included in the UK’s IUU vessel list identified as having engaged in IUU fishing. Controls are also in place to prevent foreign vessels accessing UK ports if suspected of engaging in IUU fishing. Furthermore, all wild-caught fish imported into the UK must be accompanied by validated catch certificates to ensure legality and traceability.