Written - Marine and Coastal Access Bill; Inshore Fisheries Management in Wales

Members will be aware that the Marine and Coastal Access Bill is now in the final stages of its passage through Parliament and it is anticipated it will gain Royal Assent in the Autumn. The Bill is a significant piece of legislation for Welsh fisheries and the wider marine environment.

The Bill will allow for the creation of the ‘Welsh Zone’, extending Welsh Ministers executive competence for fisheries to the extent of British Fisheries Limits, giving us parity with Scotland and Northern Ireland. It will also allow for the creation of a single fisheries management and marine enforcement regime across Wales.   

These provisions will allow Welsh Ministers to manage our marine environment and fishing industry sustainably and effectively in line with the Wales Fisheries Strategy and our Sustainable Development Scheme, One Wales One Planet.     

You will be aware that as part of the project to deliver this new fisheries management and marine enforcement regime in Wales I have set up a Stakeholder Advisory Group. This group represents fisheries managers, the fishing industry and environmental interests. I have tasked this group with providing advice to the project and for designing a model for the delivery of local and national input into fisheries management. It will also make recommendations on reporting requirements.   

I have now made a commitment to report annually to the Assembly on the exercise of my fisheries functions. I believe this will provide greater transparency in the way that we manage fisheries in Wales and I have asked the Stakeholder Advisory Group to advise further on the content of the report.