Member

Finally, turning to the amendment on our own UK fishing industry, the Minister will be aware of our serious concerns about the Government’s decision in May this year to grant EU fishing vessels continued access to UK waters, which will further threaten the sustainability of our domestic fleet for the future. In this amendment, I am seeking to understand what assessment the Government have made of the impact of future MPAs under this treaty on the sustainability of our fishing sector. Can the Minister confirm whether the Government have made any updated assessment of this, following their decision to extend EU fishing vessels’ access to UK waters? Does she accept that that decision, coupled with restrictions on fishing beyond our waters, will have an obvious impact on our national fishing fleet? I look forward to the Minister’s response.