Marine Protected Areas: Bottom Trawling
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment has she made of the benefits of a complete ban on bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy
Bottom trawling in our Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) needs to be managed appropriately due to the significant damage it can have on protected seabed habitats. Fisheries regulators make detailed assessments of the impact of all fishing activities on the protected species and habitats in our MPAs, based on advice from the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies. Regulators then develop byelaws to restrict fishing when it has been assessed as damaging. Some MPAs, such as those designated for highly mobile species, may not need protection from bottom trawling.
A consultation on the latest round of proposed fisheries byelaws, which proposes further restrictions on bottom trawling, closed on 29 September 2025. The Marine Management Organisation is now carefully considering all responses received, and decisions will be made in due course.
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