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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Marine Management Organisation’s statutory guidance document entitled Variation issued: Thursday 01 January 2026, updated on December 29th, 2025, whether her Department has conducted an impact assessment on increasing the bass threshold for (a) rod and line fishing and (b) catch net.

No impact assessments have been produced because catch limits are agreed through UK/EU annual negotiations and limits cover all permitted gears at a coastal state level, as well as across the stock’s natural range.