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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the risk of harm to marine mammals from (a) discarded and (b) lost (i) ropes, (ii) fishing lines, (iii) nets and (iv) other fishing equipment.

The Government is committed to taking action to tackle Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) to reduce the risk to all marine life, including marine mammals.

We are working domestically to tackle plastic pollution from fishing and aquaculture gear across the full lifecycle and therefore reduce the risks to wildlife. We supported the development of a circular gear design standard under the European standards body, and are working with the administrations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and industry, to develop UK-wide solutions for the collection and recycling of end-of-life gear.

This is a transboundary issue and global action is needed. Internationally, the UK has called for plastic pollution treaty under negotiation to include specific provisions to address harmful forms of plastic pollution, including fishing and aquaculture gear. We believe that measures need to address the full lifecycle of gear, from design to end-of-life management.

We are also working with other countries at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to strengthen the requirements under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) on the marking of fishing gear and the reporting of fishing gear losses.