Fisheries and the marine environment

Status / emerging findings

• The £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund lacks transparent justification for its funding level and 12-year timeline; year-one allocation of £22.6 million is described as 'strikingly modest' relative to lifetime commitment.
• Only 46% of quotas were set in line with ICES scientific advice last year; fishermen report recovering stocks (e.g. pollack) where science advises zero catch, with data delays of 9+ months identified as a longstanding problem.
• Fishing communities feel excluded from policy decisions: key voices including Cornish fishers and Brixham market were missing from Fund consultations; technical measures under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement were implemented without formal consultation.
• Spatial conflicts between fisheries and renewable energy are intensifying; government is pursuing a marine spatial prioritisation programme rather than extending land-use planning frameworks to the sea.
• The Seafish levy has been frozen since 1999, leaving the organisation with acknowledged capacity constraints despite increased regulatory burdens on the sector.

Why it matters

Fishing underpins the economy and identity of UK coastal communities, yet post-Brexit policy risks failing them through underfunded support schemes, quota decisions that ignore their data, and exclusion from decisions affecting their livelihoods.

Tone arc

Inquiry opened with procedural focus on Fund design; hardened into critique of government engagement quality and policy coherence after evidence from fishing sector representatives and officials revealed systemic disconnects between scientific advice, ministerial statements, and fisher observations.

Key witnesses

Dame Angela Eagle MP, Minister for Farming, Fisheries and Food, Daniel Zeichner MP, Food Security Minister, Colin Faulkner, DEFRA official, Mike Dowell, DEFRA official, National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, Scottish Fishermen's Federation, Marine Management Organisation, Seafish