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 fishing by supertrawlers in Marine Protected Areas; and whether those supertrawlers are planned to be banned from Marine Protected Areas once the UK leaves the EU Common Fisheries Policy.

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

When the transition period ends we will be able to restrict the fishing activities of all vessels, including supertrawlers, throughout our waters. The UK will be able to decide which vessels can access our waters and the new licensing framework within the Fisheries Bill will allow us to apply conditions to the activities of all vessels fishing in UK waters. Any vessels granted access to fish in our waters, regardless of nationality, will need to abide by UK rules including those on sustainability.

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.

Not all fishing activities within Marine Protected Areas will require management, only those likely to damage the designated features, such as trawling on the seabed. ‘Supertrawlers’ generally target fish within the water column and are unlikely to damage the seabed habitats for which most Marine Protected Areas are designated.