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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ban bottom trawling fishing in offshore Marine Protected Areas.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

We have built a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and are focused on making sure they are properly protected. Now that we have left the European Union and the Common Fisheries Policy, we can use new powers in the Fisheries Act 2020 to manage damaging fishing activity in our 40 English offshore MPAs. It is only fishing activity that might damage the legally protected habitats and species in MPAs that requires management. We have already introduced byelaws in the first four English offshore sites which ban bottom towed gear over sensitive habitats. We have also published a call for evidence relating to the next thirteen sites. We are aiming to have all MPAs in English offshore waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024.