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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the ecosystem objective under section 1(4) of the Fisheries Act 2020, what target is in place to minimise and eliminate bycatch of (i) porpoises, (ii) dolphins, (iii) whales and (iv) other sensitive species; what the timeframe is for meeting that target; and what steps the Government plans to take to reduce that bycatch.

We will set out policies that will help to achieve this objective in the Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS, which is a UK-wide policy document.

The JFS will be published 24 months after the Fisheries Act received Royal Assent, in late 2022. We have also included provisions to report on the JFS policies every 3 years, and to review the JFS at least every 6 years, therefore ensuring the policies within it continue to deliver the objectives within the Fisheries Act.