Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

This has proved to be a great education for those of us who do not spend our lives worrying about the ins and outs of fishing. In fact, what the Minister has been telling us is that anyone carrying out the operation known as fishing—which may not always involve extracting fish, but may include octopuses, crabs or all sorts of other things—has an exemption under the common fisheries policy. There is a fine point when you are fishing in an estuary as to whether that is the sea; we shall have to find out where the boundary of the sea lies in that sort of situation. This debate has been most revealing and I am grateful to the Minister for providing explanations. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment A210 withdrawn.