Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I move the amendments in my colleague's name. Like Simon, can I welcome the fact that the Welsh Government has now published a draft national marine plan? We're kind of getting the first half of the debate that will go on through tomorrow when we will discuss some of the committee's ideas in this vital area. And I do hope that these two hours' worth of debate will feed into the consultation process in an effective way. We've waited a long time, but we've been rewarded with a very long draft report. I mean, 300 pages, I'm sure, made, for most of us who pay attention to this policy area and those out there in the field and our colleagues in all sorts of non-governmental organisations—it made very inspiring Christmas reading for everyone. But I am pleased that we now have it, and I really am concerned about where it enables us to progress towards in terms of coherent policy in this area.

But I think we do need to remind ourselves that the ability to have this sort of planning goes back to the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. We had the marine policy statement in 2011. Other jurisdictions have been quicker: in Scotland, their plan was rolled out in 2015, so they've had over two years, really, of additional time, perhaps, to start tackling some of the immediate concerns in terms of the ecology of the marine environment, but also, very importantly, how we fit the environment into our vision of sustainable development, and that's very different important as well. We'd have to say our current marine ecosystems are not in a state of pristine health, as far as we know, anyway; I'll talk a little bit about data deficiencies later. But the 'State of Natural Resources' report said that only 29 per cent of our estuary and coastal waters were defined as being in a good ecological status, so it's quite clear that we need a lot more attention in this area of public policy.

I have no problems with the first three points in this motion. I don't have any difficulties, either, with the Plaid Cymru amendments, but there is, I think, a sense of complacency in the Government's position, or at least this is creeping in, and that's why I'm not exactly delighted by point 4 and the pat on the back it seeks to give the Government. But we clearly need to identify the potential for what many call blue growth in the marine sector, and we have rich resources, a large marine environment from which to draw, and we really should be seeing this as central to our national well-being goals. We ought to be sector leaders and have that kind of ambition, and not be dragging a little bit behind in the slow lane.

I would say I think it's fine producing a document of 300 pages if it's still really quite clear and targeted. The problem if it isn't is that it appears rather prolix. If we compare it to the Scottish version, that's under half the length of our draft plan, and I think it is a lot more succinct and focused. Really, at the other end of the scale, the US national ocean policy implementation plan is 36 pages. I think that's the kind of crispness we need to see if we are really going to get a sense of how the Government is going to make decisions and enable others to act in this area and know what is possible in terms of applications they're going to be bringing forward. I think it's very important, Llywydd, that the marine plan needs to be spatially prescriptive, providing clarity to sea users and stakeholders alike, while ensuring space for marine life to thrive. That, clearly, is the balance that we need to set.

I have one major concern I just want to raise today. For these proposals to work, there needs to be effective intelligence on which plans and proposals can draw. The general quality of the evidence base is very poor. There's also a lot of confusion in the fragmentation that exists between different jurisdictions and sectors that have various responsibilities for our marine environment. I do think that we need to pay a lot of attention to this area so that we see much more data collaboration between authorities and organisations from across the various sectors, and see that as part of a solid foundation for our future development. But can I just conclude by saying that this is the start, and we will work in a constructive way to improve things and to ensure that, for the future, we do have a very clear strategy for our marine environment? Thank you.