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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect the Torbay Marine Conservation Zone, in the context of climate change.

Torbay Marine Protected Area (MPA) was designated in 2013 to protect a range of features and species including native oysters, seagrass beds, and long – snouted seahorse. These features are protected through a mobile fishing gear permit byelaw that prohibits the use of demersal towed gears across designated features. Owing to the extension of the sea grass beds, an area that had previously been open to seasonal trawling was closed in February 2025. These measures will aid the recovery of sensitive features and allow the MPA to become more resilient to the effects of climate change. All MPAs are also protected from the point of designation by the planning and marine licensing regimes that cover activities such as dredging for aggregates and construction of offshore wind farms.