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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce (a) a legal requirement to fish at a level that enables fish stocks to recover and (b) to document all fish caught, after the UK has left the European Union.

The Government has always made clear that it is committed to science-based fisheries management and managing stocks at sustainable levels; and we will continue to do so after we leave the European Union. We will continue to require accurate data recording by fishers and the gathering of robust scientific evidence. A number of trials have been undertaken to test Remote Electronic Monitoring which provides an effective and efficient way of gathering data on what is caught at sea. We have developed significant expertise through this work and are considering how best to apply this learning as we develop options for future fisheries management approaches.