Fisheries: Marine Protected Areas

(asked on 2nd September 2020) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will limit the size of trawlers allowed to operate in marine protected areas.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 11th September 2020

Marine protection is a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only.

The impact a fishing vessel has on a Marine Protected Area is determined by how damaging the fishing method is, rather than the size of the vessel. 'Supertrawlers' generally target pelagic species of fish within the water column and are unlikely to damage the seabed habitats, such as reef and sediment habitats, for which most Marine Protected Areas are designated.

A new power proposed in the Fisheries Bill will allow the Marine Management Organisation to protect offshore Marine Protected Areas from damaging fishing activity. We are prioritising those Marine Protected Areas most at risk and aim to make rapid progress as soon as the transition period ends.

Our Fisheries Bill prohibits any commercial fishing vessel from fishing in UK waters without a licence. It also provides powers to attach conditions (such as the areas that can be fished, species that can be caught and the type of fishing gear that can be used) to fishing vessel licences. Foreign vessels operating in UK waters will have to follow UK rules, including the conditions that are attached to their commercial fishing licence.

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