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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) protect, and (2) promote, the UK fishing industry.

Our fishing industry faced a challenging start to the year but now the dust has settled, we are seeing important developments being made on key areas such as the quota exchanges. The exchange mechanism we have put in place between the UK and EU has seen over 150 transfers completed so far this year.

Using our powers as an independent coastal State, we will continue to strive for the most sustainable fishing industry in the world that supports the long-term future of the UK fishing industry.

The Government has met its manifesto commitment to maintain fisheries funding with £32.7 million repatriated from the EU to support the fisheries industry across the UK. This funding was designed to enforce the protection of our fishing waters, deliver essential data collection activities, and enable each of the four fisheries administrations to set up their own funding scheme. The funding scheme for England – the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS) – opened for applications on 6 April 2021 and is designed to support the long-term sustainability and success of seafood businesses throughout England and help safeguard our marine environment.

Additionally, there is the £100 million UK Seafood Fund, to modernise, rejuvenate and support a more sustainable sector for the long term through its three pillars: Science and Innovation, Infrastructure, and Skills and Training. Both parts of The Science and Innovation pillar – The Seafood Innovation Fund and the Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships scheme - are now open for applications and will provide £24 million over three years for world-class research to improve the productivity and long-term sustainability of the industry. The Infrastructure pillar will be announced soon and will provide funding to boost capacity, support levelling up and reduce carbon emissions. The Skills and Training pillar will follow soon after, with investments aimed at attracting new entrants into the fishing industry and in doing so encourage employment opportunities in coastal communities.