Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:29 pm on 29 June 2022.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:29, 29 June 2022

I thought you'd already seen the invitation. Yes, it is the case. It's 14 July that I will be holding the first meeting, which I'm sure you will welcome. As you said, I did give assurance to the committee. It will be interesting to see. I think it was really imperative that we had a new structure in place. We'd had the Wales Marine Fisheries Advisory Group for quite a long time, but we are in a new world now—we've left the European Union—and we have to make sure that our fishers have many more opportunities than they had previously. I have had discussions with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary of State to ensure that Welsh fishers absolutely get their fair share of quotas. We've always co-designed and co-managed fisheries, both management and the way that we've looked at schemes that we've brought forward, particularly with COVID et cetera. So, I don't think the structure will change. What I think is really important is that the advice I'm given, as Minister, and my officials, covers the whole range of fisheries and marine.