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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to (a) ensure that Total Allowable Catch (TAC) quotas are set in line with scientific advice and (b) where necessary remove such TACs from the list fixing TACs at the same level for the next two years under the Joint Statement by the Council and Commission, Council document PECHE 491 15502/15 REV1, where there are negative trends in stock biomass for data-limited stocks.

The Government supports setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs) in line with the available scientific advice. The Government agrees with the joint statement made by Council and the European Commission at last year’s December Council that it is desirable to maintain the 2015 TAC level for certain specified data limited stocks, where the perception of the state of those stocks does not change significantly.