Written Question·Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs·UIN 18876

Marine Protected Areas: Bottom Trawling

Tabled: 14 July 2026
Answered: 17 July 2026

Question

Tristan Osborne

LabourChatham and Aylesford

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the more than 30,000 hours of apparent bottom trawling activity recorded in 2025 within a Marine Protected Area desig

Answer

Emma Hardy
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) consulted last year on fisheries byelaws to restrict bottom trawling in a further 41 Marine Protected Areas. These proposals are substantial, covering 30,000 square kilometres or 13% of English waters and we must e...

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