Committees

Fisheries and the marine environment

Inquiry

As it strives to deliver its energy, environmental and growth commitments, balancing the pressures on the marine environment will be a challenge for the Government.  

Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the UK takes part in several different international fisheries negotiations as an independent coastal state to agree total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for fish stocks shared with other coastal states. The Committee will scrutinise the outcomes of these negotiations, as well as other outstanding issues around domestic fisheries management and EU-UK fisheries cooperation. 

The fisheries and the marine environment inquiry will provide consistent scrutiny of the issues and competing challenges facing the fishing sector and the UK’s marine environment. It will focus on fishers, seafood processors, consumers, environmental advocates, scientists, and coastal communities, and seek to engage with these stakeholders in formal calls for evidence, public evidence sessions, visits, engagement events and consultation.   

The Committee will call for evidence on a regular basis. The Committee will produce iterative and focused reports throughout the inquiry.   

Topics for scrutiny will include, but are not limited to:  

  • international fisheries negotiations; 
  • UK/EU quotas and access to waters from July 2026; 
  • management of protected areas;  
  • competing spatial pressures on the marine environment;  
  • implementing post-Brexit fisheries policy, including the adequacy of Fisheries Management Plans;  
  • marine conservation, including protection of marine mammals and seabird species; 
  • access to labour; and 
  • food security. 

This inquiry will engage the Committee’s cross-cutting work on supporting rural and coastal communities and weather and climate resilience, as well as its inquiry into fairness in the food supply chain.   

If you have information or evidence which may be of interest to the Committee, please contact: efracom@parliament.uk  

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The Committee is not currently accepting submissions on the future of fishing communities, but we may open another call for evidence in the future. If you would like to write to the Committee about matters relating to fisheries and the marine environment in the meantime, please email your submission to EFRACOM@parliament.uk. The Committee is unable to consider individual problems or specific complaints.

Upcoming events

View all events

No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Wednesday 28 January 2026
9:30am Private
10:00am Public
Fisheries and the marine environment - Oral evidence 28 January 2026
10:00am
  • Colin Faulkner (Chief Executive at Seafish)
  • Olivia Thomas (Head of Marine Planning & Technical at The Crown Estate)
  • Michelle Willis (Iterim CEO at Marine Management Organisation (MMO))
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 16 December 2025
9:30am Private
10:00am Public
Oral evidence session 16 December 2025
The future of farming - Oral evidence
10:00am
  • Dame Angela Eagle MP (Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Emily Miles (Director General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Mike Rowe (Director for Farming and Countryside at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food supply chain resilience and fairness - Oral evidence
10:45am
  • Dame Angela Eagle MP (Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Emily Miles (Director General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Mike Rowe (Director for Farming and Countryside at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
Biosecurity and animal welfare - Oral evidence
11:10am
  • Dame Angela Eagle MP (Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Emily Miles (Director General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Mike Rowe (Director for Farming and Countryside at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Fisheries and the marine environment - Oral evidence
11:30am
  • Dame Angela Eagle MP (Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Gareth Baynham-Hughes (Director of Marine and Fisheries at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Mike Dowell (Deputy Director for Marine and Fisheries at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Wednesday 10 September 2025
10:00am Private
Private meeting 10 September 2025
Room 7, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 1 April 2025
9:30am Private
10:00am Public
Oral evidence session 1 April 2025
The future of farming - Oral evidence
10:00am
  • Daniel Zeichner MP (Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Janet Hughes (Director of the Farming and Countryside Programme at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Emily Miles (Director General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
Food supply chain resilience and fairness - Oral evidence
10:45am
  • Daniel Zeichner MP (Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Janet Hughes (Director of the Farming and Countryside Programme at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Emily Miles (Director General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
Fisheries and the marine environment - Oral evidence
11:20am
  • Daniel Zeichner MP (Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Colin Faulkner (Head of External Fisheries and Trade at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Mike Dowell (Head of EU Fisheries Policy and Negotiations at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster

Contact us

We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone. Please be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints.

  • Email: efracom@parliament.uk
  • Address: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA