Member

On fishing and the commercial shipping sector, I have spoken, as I am sure have other noble Lords, to fishing organisations in my area of Cornwall, such as the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation, and, nationally, to the NFFO. I am sure the noble Lord, Lord Offord, would be pleased if I had spoken to the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation as well, but I have not yet done that, for which I apologise. It is exactly as he said: there is genuine concern about being squeezed out of major areas of the UK’s near-coastal fisheries, increasingly because of floating offshore wind. There is that concern in the Celtic Sea. I am sure that there is a solution to this that can work but, given the strong role that the Government are giving to GB Energy to fulfil our energy needs, it is very important that there is serious and genuine consultation beforehand—I am not so much into reports—as I would expect with the Crown Estate as well, to talk to those operators, fishers and their organisations to find a way forward.