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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect marine conservation areas.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are protected from the point of designation by the planning and marine licensing regimes which cover activities such as dredging for aggregates and construction of offshore wind farms. Where the evidence shows this is necessary, we also use byelaws to restrict damaging fishing activities and over 60% of our MPAs already have byelaws in place. Last year, the Marine Management Organisation consulted on proposals to manage bottom trawling and other fishing methods in a further 42 MPAs and in April the Department confirmed two new MPA byelaws in our inshore waters.