I welcome the committee's report, Dirprwy Lywydd, and very much agree with them that we should be proud of our Welsh seas and our Welsh coastal environment, and that the marine protected areas are important for healthy seas that will maintain that advantage that we have, and support tourism, fisheries and other uses.

I also agree with the committee that, of course, you can never take that quality for granted, and that the current condition of our seas and marine and coastal environments do require urgent attention from Welsh Government and others. There is a need for us to set out a bold and ambitious vision, as I think the committee described it.

What I would like to do is to concentrate on one recommendation of the committee, Dirprwy Lywydd—recommendation 9—because I do think it's very important that the Welsh Government does carefully assess the impact of Brexit because so much of the protection that we have, and the framework of protection that we have, does come from the European Union. I'm very pleased that the Cabinet Secretary and the Welsh Government have accepted that recommendation and, indeed, will set out a vision for the way forward early this year. I know we all look forward to that with eager anticipation. 

In terms of the European Union, Dirprwy Lywydd, the marine strategy directive has been crucial. It was transposed into UK law by UK Government regulations back, I think, in 2010 and from that came the marine strategies, including the one that we have in Wales. It seeks to sustain and conserve and to achieve good environmental status by 2020, which I'm sure all of us would very much support and be in agreement with. So, I know that many of the organisations in Wales and environmental groups very much value what the European Union's efforts have brought in those terms, and generally believe that these regulations have been a vital framework and, indeed, a driving force for the progress that we've seen.

So, what I would like to ask today, Dirprwy Lywydd, is: will the marine strategy regulations be central to the new vision that the Cabinet Secretary will shortly be setting out for our seas and coastal environment around Wales following the UK leaving the European Union? And, also, what discussions has Welsh Government held, and will Welsh Government hold, in terms of taking these regulations forward as a framework following the UK leaving the European Union? Because I really do believe, and I know, that many of the organisations vitally concerned with these matters, with all the passion that Mike Hedges described earlier in terms of what they value in terms of our seas and our coastal environment, and what they want to see conserved and, indeed, developed in the correct sustainable way for the future, a lot of that passion does revolve around these regulations: what they've brought and what they can bring if we continue that approach for the future. So, I know they and I also, Dirprwy Lywydd, would be very keen to get the Minister's assurances and response on those particular matters.