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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of levels of (a) puppy and (b) kitten smuggling into the UK under existing pet travel rules.

Defra's approach to fisheries management and stakeholder engagement is one where there is a greater focus on early and ongoing involvement of the fishing sector, supplementing formal consultation processes for fisheries management plans (FMPs) with tailored, participatory approaches. Inshore representatives have opportunities to contribute through working groups, tide and time-sensitive regional engagement events and evidence gathering exercises.

Inshore voices are also continually considered across all fisheries management through support from regional fisheries groups (RFGs), the Marine Management Organisation’s (MMO) network of regional fisheries managers, meetings of Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) and other routine engagement.

Marine plans should be used to guide decision makers on how to balance different interests in the sea, including fisheries. National policy statements also set out how marine activities should be considered.