Marine Protected Areas: Bottom Trawling

Lord Roborough Excerpts
Wednesday 15th April 2026

(1 day, 10 hours ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Hayman of Ullock Portrait Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
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I am very happy to congratulate David Attenborough, whether we bring in a ban or not. He has been an extraordinary champion for our environment over many years, and I am sure we all wish him a very happy 100th birthday. I watched his film on bottom trawling. It was an extremely important piece of footage.

Lord Roborough Portrait Lord Roborough (Con)
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My Lords, this Government’s agreement with the EU last year surrendered around 40% of UK fishing rights to our European neighbours for the next 12 years. Just 10 EU vessels account for 25% of all bottom trawling in UK waters, with little by British vessels. Under this agreement, is the Minister able to end this damaging EU exploitation of our waters?

Baroness Hayman of Ullock Portrait Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
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I am sure the noble Lord will not be surprised to hear that I am not able to divulge any of the detail of the current negotiations on the EU reset. Those of us who are involved in that reset process are extremely aware of the sensitivities around fishing, the type of fishing and the fishing gear being used, as the noble Lord mentioned earlier.