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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to end overfishing in UK waters and restore fish stocks to sustainable levels.

Protecting and restoring fish stocks is a priority for this Government. The Government is delivering Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs), which set out the actions needed to manage or rebuild stocks to sustainable levels. These plans are central to meeting the commitments in the Joint Fisheries Statement to manage stocks sustainably. The Government deliberately targeted valuable but vulnerable non-quota stocks for our first FMPs and are beginning to implement measures in those plans to manage stocks more sustainably.

Through annual negotiations with our international partners, the UK continues to agree Total Allowable Catches informed by the best available scientific advice, supporting the long-term health of shared fish stocks. In negotiations for 2026 fishing opportunities, we agreed a number of new measures aimed at easing fishing pressure and beginning the long-term process of rebuilding stocks.