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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with stakeholders on his Department's plans to introduce whole site bans on bottom-towed fishing gear in Marine Protected Areas.

The Marine Management Organisation and the ten Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities assess fishing activity in the English MPAs they are responsible for and decide what management measures are required for the MPAs to meet their conservation objectives. Sometimes these management measures will involve a ban across the whole site, where the features to be protected cover the whole site. Potential fishing restrictions in MPAs can be discussed with stakeholders during site designation processes and then again when management measures might need to be introduced, including through calls for evidence and formal public consultations such as the one recently announced.