20 September 2022
Fishing and Fisheries

As a conservationist, lifelong coastal sailor in Norfolk and Suffolk and a former earth studies student, I very much share the concerns that many constituents have recently been raising with me about the importance of sustainable fishing.

Having made the decision to leave the European Union, we now have a once in a generation opportunity to replace the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which had led to industrial overfishing of our coastal waters, and instead renew our coastal fishing rules to fish more sustainably, better conserve stocks and support a Renaissance of inland coastal fisheries.
 
The Fisheries Act enshrines in law the Government’s commitment to sustainable fishing through its objectives and fisheries statements and through the new legal commitment to produce Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) to restore our fish stocks to sustainable levels. The Act contains a ‘bycatch objective’ seeking to reduce the wasteful practice of discarding fish; an ‘ecosystem objective’ to minimise and, where possible, eliminate negative impacts on marine ecosystems; and a new ‘climate change objective’ which recognises and seeks to reduce the impact of fishing on the health of our oceans and our planet.
 
I am delighted that the UK is already a global leader in protecting the ocean, as well as our marine life across the UK, and 374 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) now protect 38 per cent of UK waters. These areas are all subject to planning and licensing regimes to ensure they are protected from damaging activities and further plans to manage fishing activity in them continue to be developed.
 
Furthermore the Government’s £500 million Blue Planet Fund will help some of the world’s poorest communities to protect the ocean from plastic pollution, overfishing and habitat loss – with Ministers announcing the first five programmes under the fund (totalling £16.2 million of funding) back in August last year. 

The draft Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) commits the UK Government and Devolved Administrations to work together to adopt an ‘ecosystem-based approach’ to fisheries that will underpin a vibrant, profitable fishing industry that is resilient to climate change. The JFS includes a list of proposed Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) that will be published by the UK Administrations and which I am pleased will be a cornerstone of the Government’s approach to fisheries management now that the UK has left the CFP.

We must get this right. 
 
Rest assured I will continue to monitor this issue closely and liaise with ministers and officials to ensure that the views of my constituents are properly raised, addressed and considered.