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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what timetable her Department has set for mandating Remote Electronic Monitoring, including camera monitoring of catches, on pelagic trawl vessels operating in English waters, following the completion of the test-and-learn phase in 2025.

Defra is working towards making Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) a statutory requirement for large pelagic trawlers fishing in English waters. The department will make an announcement in due course. Following the announcement, vessel owners will be given a minimum of 24 months’ notice before mandatory requirements are introduced.