Can I just say how delighted I am that we have the second of two debates on the maritime environment this week? And I hope this will demonstrate the close co-operation that the legislature and the Executive will have in this vital area of public policy, which does need substantial improvement, as our Chair, Mike Hedges, has already alluded to. And can I join him in thanking all those who allowed us to issue such an authoritative report—all the people who co-operated with us, in our various visits, and gave evidence, and also our outstanding secretariat and the research staff?

It's a formidably complicated area. I have to say, in all my time here as an Assembly Member, I don't think my statistical and analytical abilities were more tested than trying to make some sense of our designation system, in terms of seas and coasts around Wales. Around 50 per cent of our seas, and 75 per cent of our coastlines, are protected by MPAs. However, as we heard in a survey of some 727 stakeholders, 35 per cent thought ineffective management was one of the biggest threats facing the marine environment. And I think, if there's one thing I took away from this report is that we must always remember that designation does not automatically mean effective management. And I think that's at the heart, really, of what the Government now needs to achieve, to ensure that designation does lead to the effective management of our marine resources, and the encouragement and protection of marine life.

Yesterday, in this vein, I emphasised the need for good data and monitoring. Again, it's a point that's been made strongly in this inquiry, but as I made that a highlight of the speech I made yesterday, I won't repeat it here this afternoon. Can I talk, Deputy Presiding Officer, about the first recommendation in this report and I think it's probably the most important? That states that the Government must provide leadership on this matter by developing an MPA strategy and by ensuring that all management authorities are actively engaged and are fulfilling their duties and responsibilities. Now the draft plan is really important and will receive our most detailed attention. Even though the Government has accepted this recommendation, the Government's subsequent responses have not always been I think up to the mark, though, as I've said, I want to give credit to the Minister at least for delivering the plan now, and let's hope that is a starting point for better performance in this area of public policy. 

But we have here this repeated call for effective leadership and it's something that goes back a long way. The Environment and Sustainability Committee's report in the fourth Assembly on the inquiry into marine policy in Wales, published in 2013, noted that marine stakeholders felt that the previous Welsh Government had often had, and I quote, an 'and marine' mentality with the marine environment and economy treated as an afterthought. The committee's legacy report in 2016, which obviously we've noted very carefully, noted stakeholders were concerned that even three or four years on that mentality  still persisted. I have to say that was something that we found in our evidence, and I know that the Government hopes to improve its delivery of marine policy, and we will be active partners in ensuring you're able to do that, but we certainly need this new start. 

As I said, this really does come back to how the Government sets priorities and enables the likes of NRW to implement their statutory duties effectively, and, previously the Countryside Council for Wales said they sought a greater lead from Welsh Government on MPA management. Let me just quote one person, Professor Warren, from Aberystwyth, and she said that the Welsh Government, 

'is not strong enough in its ideas'—

I think that's really key here— 

'as to what it actually wants at the moment to be able to give the lead to people'.  

So, again, that's the objective of the plan you've brought forward I hope. 

Can I just finish by briefly saying about resources? The committee's been concerned about the extent of NRW's current statutory obligations and there have been hints from NRW, I think, that they are fully extended at the moment. I think we do need to be satisfied that they have the ability to ensure that effective monitoring and reporting and management of marine protected areas is achieved now, because it's not been done in the past and that is what we need to rectify. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.