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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to make any changes to their policy regarding the permanent closure of sandeel fisheries in English waters of the North Sea.

Both the UK and Scottish Governments closed English Waters of the North Sea and all Scottish Waters to fishing for sandeel in March 2024. The closure is in place to shield sandeel as an essential food source for threatened seabird populations, commercially valuable fish and for marine mammals. The EU has raised a dispute that the UK’s decision to prohibit fishing for sandeel within UK waters is not compliant with the Trade and Cooperation agreement (TCA). The dispute proceedings are confidential therefore there is little more I can say at this time.