The Protection of Marine Life

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:21 pm on 13 October 2021.

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Photo of Huw Irranca-Davies Huw Irranca-Davies Labour 2:21, 13 October 2021

Could I first of all, just as the salmon champion of the Senedd, ask the seals to play gently? [Laughter.] But I have a particular interest, as the Minister knows, in the partnership working that underpins both fisheries and marine management, the exploitation, sustainably, of our natural resources, alongside the ecosystem approach, which she rightly said would form the basis of Welsh Government thinking. So, I wonder whether she is taking the time to look at the effective working of both the national and the local groups—the Wales marine action and advisory group, but also those that underpin it on a local basis—to make sure that we've got that balance right, that all voices are being heard, and that there's an effective partnership. It's been quite a few years now since they've been put in place, so it seems that it's an appropriate time to say, 'Are they working effectively, are they getting the balance right for nature and also for sustainable exploitation?'