Wednesday 28 January in Committee
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
The Crown Estate, Seafish and the Marine Management Organisation
will be questioned by the EFRA Committee on how to manage
competing demands on the UK's coastline.
MPs are interested in hearing from
these three organisations about
how they coordinate on fishing, habitat conservation,
supporting coastal communities, and the development
of energy infrastructure, which all vie for limited
space.
The Crown Estate, which owns 103,400 square miles seabed around
the UK, will be asked how it considers local coastal
and fishing communities when making leasing decisions and
how it balances its responsibilities to help the country achieve
net zero with nature recovery policies.
There will be questions for Seafish on proposed, but
since shelved, changes to the levy paid by
fishing firms to fund its activities. The
organisation will also be questioned on concerns from the fishing
sector that its Seafish Management Teams, charged with promoting
the sector and supporting fisheries, will be scaled back. There
are concerns this will reduce services that fishing and
seafood companies are paying for via the
levy.
The Marine Management Organisation will be quizzed on the
administration of its Fisheries and Coastal Growth
Fund of £360m to modernise fishing fleets, enhance
workforce skills, and revitalise coastal communities to boost
tourism.
The witnesses will also be asked about the potential
benefits or disadvantages that a reset with the
EU regarding fishing policy could bring.
Witnesses from 10.00am:
-
, Acting CEO, Marine
Management Organisation
- Olivia Thomas, Head of Planning & Technical, The Crown
Estate
