Committee publication · Correspondence · 10 March 2026
Correspondence from Dame Angela Eagle, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, following the fisheries evidence session on 28 January, dated 2 March 2026
From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Fisheries and the marine environment
Summary
Dame Angela Eagle, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, provides follow-up information to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on UK-EU fisheries negotiations and the Marine Spatial Prioritisation (MSPri) programme. She clarifies implementation timelines for agreed technical measures to reduce bycatch in Celtic and Irish Seas (likely after 1 June 2026 deadline), explains the UK's divergence from EU catch composition rules, and details MSPri's governance structure and influence on the East Marine Plan and offshore wind leasing decisions.
Key findings
- UK-EU technical measures to reduce bycatch in Celtic Sea, Irish Sea and Channel will likely miss the 1 June 2026 implementation deadline due to legislative challenges; government will work with industry on transition period.
- UK has chosen not to adopt catch composition rules (conditional mesh sizes based on species proportions) due to enforcement difficulties, instead applying mesh size requirements unconditionally in UK waters—diverging from EU approach.
- MSPri programme, with 16 departments and agencies represented, has improved cross-government marine planning coordination and provided critical fisheries data to inform East Marine Plan and Crown Estate's offshore wind Round 6 leasing.
- Crown Estate used government policy steer (June 2025) incorporating fisheries data to identify areas for offshore wind leasing; fishing industry areas identified and included in Marine Delivery Routemap; no prioritisation trade-off decisions yet made by government.
- MSPri team (7 staff, £0.43m annual cost) provided approximately £0.9m funding to MMO, Cefas, Natural England and JNCC in FY 25/26 to support marine planning contributions.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Dame Angela Eagle, Alistair Carmichael, The Crown Estate, Marine Management Organisation, European Commission, Seafish, Natural England
Notable line
“… it's unlikely we will implement everything by 1 June. Timelines have not been decided but we will ensure that there is sufficient lead-in time to disseminate changes to the relevant parts …”
Key Quotes
“The depleted status of stocks this year, particularly those with zero catch advice, warranted more rapid and joined-up action with the EU to promote long-term sustainability of these fisheries.”
“… it's unlikely we will implement everything by 1 June. Timelines have not been decided but we will ensure that there is sufficient lead-in time to disseminate changes to the relevant parts of the fishing fleet before they become mandatory.”
“… it is the UK view that these types of measures (where technical requirements only apply conditionally upon proportions or percentages of species caught) are generally difficult to enforce.”
“… the appreciation of the importance of strategic marine planning across Government has increased as a result of departmental engagement in the MSPri programme.”
“No prioritisation/trade-off decisions have been made through MSPri about future locations for offshore wind.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗