Robbie Moore

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I congratulate the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) on securing this important debate. For centuries, fishing has fed this island nation. It has built our harbour towns and sent generation after generation to sea in all waters. In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, almost three in every 100 jobs still depend on the seafood industry. That is exactly why—not just in Cornwall but across the country—the official Opposition support the creation of the UK’s first comprehensive cross-Government departmental national fishing strategy. I thank all Members who were involved in “An Action Plan for a Thriving and Sustainable UK Fishing Industry” and the all-party parliamentary group on fisheries for the work that it did to pull together that comprehensive piece of work. However, let us be honest about where the industry stands today. Full-time jobs are down by about 15% since 2024, and landings fell by 10% by weight in a single year between 2024 and 2025. The Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael), has said previously in this House that DEFRA is “held in exceptionally poor regard” by fishers. A strategy is welcome, but it will mean something only if the Government are prepared to change course, as has been said. The Government constantly give out the right narrative that food security is national security, but in the Budget a fortnight ago, neither food nor fishing were mentioned. The APPG’s fisheries action plan makes 38 recommendations, and the industry has been clear about which recommendations matter the most. Fishing and seafood must be fully represented in the UK’s food security planning. Fishing grounds must be recognised in marine planning as what they are: vital places that provide food. The Government must give full effect to the Fisheries Act 2020, which was passed by the previous Conservative Government and balances the social, economic and environmental sides of fishing instead of just putting an emphasis on one of them. Will the Minister commit to a cross-Government departmental national fishing strategy that gives reassurance to the fishing sector, and will he lay out a timetable for it? Will fishing and seafood be fully represented in the UK’s food security assessments? My hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) rightly outlined that we must focus on dealing with the short-term issues and pressures that face our fishing sector. Since the Iran war began, fuel costs for fishermen have roughly doubled. Successful businesses have exhausted their reserves and are going bust. Fishermen are leaving the industry. After months of campaigning, Ministers can still point only to diesel relief, marine voyage relief and the growth fund, all of which existed before the crisis began. The Budget offered some help for electricity-intensive businesses, but nothing for fuel-intensive ones such as fishing.