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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect the seas and fish stocks around England.

During negotiations on the reform of EU Common Fisheries Policy, which entered into force in 2014, the UK was successful in securing a legally binding commitment to manage fish stocks at Maximum Sustainable Yield, an end to wasteful discarding of fish and a new regional decision making process.

We are consulting on proposals for 23 Marine Conservation Zones, which add to the wide range of protected areas and other measures used to manage our seas.