5. Debate on the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee report: Report on the Welsh Government’s marine policies

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:37 pm on 18 May 2022.

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Photo of Llyr Gruffydd Llyr Gruffydd Plaid Cymru 4:37, 18 May 2022

On bottom trawling, again, a number of Members raised that, and I think it is something that we've been grappling with for a long, long time, and we would all wish to be further ahead than we are at the moment. I'm glad to hear that the Minister's pledging to change gear on towed gear and bottom trawling, so let's move as swiftly as we can on that. Joyce Watson is absolutely right: five years on from our predecessor committee report on marine policies, nothing's changed, frankly, or at least we're still waiting for the recommendations to really be addressed.

The blue carbon agenda is a huge agenda, significant in locking in carbon—more so than terrestrial carbon stores. There are many fledgling schemes around Wales that I think deserve our support, and certainly deserve greater attention from us as a committee, and I hope that that is one of the areas that we will choose to pursue in detail.

Species champions were always going to come up, I thought, in this debate. And just to let you know, I'm at the—. Am I at the top or the bottom of your food chain? I can never remember. But, you know, without the sand eel, there wouldn't be basking sharks, okay. So, just keep that in mind. [Interruption.] Oh, yes. Well, the oyster is the Minister's. There we are. Okay.