Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Bottom Trawling: Marine Protected Areas — [Steve McCabe in the Chair]

28 June 2022 · 5 other contributors · 3,884 words

Opened by Chris Grayling Con Epsom and Ewell

Responding minister: Victoria Prentis

Environment

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Chris Grayling raised concerns about bottom trawling: marine protected areas — [steve mccabe in the chair] in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • Government's marine protected areas (MPAs) in England cover 40% of English waters with 178 designated sites.
  • Bottom trawling is banned in 102 of the MPAs.
  • The government aims to balance environmental protection with economic benefits for coastal communities.

Key requests to Government

The Minister should move faster on plans to ban bottom trawling in more MPAs beyond the initial four protected areas. The approach taken so far, including partial bans within MPAs, should be reconsidered to ensure uniform protection across all designated areas and effective policing of regulations.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Chris Grayling Con Epsom and Ewell

The Government's marine protected areas (MPAs) are not effectively protecting the seabed, allowing large-scale trawlers to cause significant damage. Less than 100th of 1% of UK waters have the highest level of protection, where all fishing is banned, while 94% permit bottom trawling. This results in habitat degradation and destruction of critical marine ecosystems, including kelp and seagrass which are crucial for carbon absorption. There is an urgency to address this issue before further damage occurs.

Other contributors (5)
  • Bob Seely

    A ban on bottom trawling in all MPAs would be supported by the Isle of Wight, combining with a Reserve Seafood brand to increase catches, job satisfaction, and prices for fish when fishing is done sustainably.

  • Peter Offord Con Hendon

    Agreed on the need for tough enforcement against fishing vessels that break rules and damage ecology. Proposed banning vessels that turn off tracking systems from UK waters entirely.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Fishermen have a strong incentive to be environmentalists and future generations should benefit from consultation with long-standing fishermen in conversations regarding marine protected areas. Acknowledged the importance of protecting marine environments but emphasized the need for consideration of fishing communities' livelihoods, particularly those operating smaller boats. Noted that some ports manage their fisheries well and expressed support for steps to address issues with large vessels.

  • Luke Pollard Lab Co-op Plymouth Sutton and Devonport

    The time supertrawlers spent fishing in marine protected areas more than doubled to 2,913 hours in 2019 alone. There is an opportunity now to ban supertrawlers in every single MPA as a quick early win. The Minister is making a sound case of stating where we are up to. However, does she note that the supertrawlers, which the UK has none of and which plunder many of our MPAs, land their fish in foreign ports? Many of our bottom trawlers already fish outside MPAs and land in UK ports.

  • Matthew Offord

    AIS systems on commercial fishing vessels need legislation to ensure they remain operational, following an incident where a vessel failed to display correct lights and turned off its AIS system.

Government Response

Victoria Prentis

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr McCabe. Our network of MPAs in England covers 40% of English waters with 178 designated sites; bottom trawling is already banned in 102 of them. The government recognises the need for balance between environmental protection and economic benefits for coastal communities. Approximately 45% of fish landed in the UK comes from bottom trawling, including cod, plaice, and scallops. Detailed site-by-site analysis has been conducted to determine the impact on MPAs; byelaws have been designed based on scientific advice for each area. The government aims to complete management measures for 23 offshore sites by 2024, engaging with the fishing industry throughout this process. Supertrawlers, while efficient at fishing, do not typically interact with seabed habitats protected by MPAs and require further policy scrutiny. Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) are being considered for five pilot sites to allow complete recovery of green ecosystems.

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