Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

It is axiomatic that we have a fairly lengthy debate when we get to discuss the duties of any body in this Bill, and this clause is no different. IFCAs will take over from the sea fisheries committees, one of whose problems was that they did what it said on the tin: they were focused on sea fisheries. However, they were not very good at conserving anything other than sea fish and, sometimes, not even that. My amendment, which is about the terms of IFCA duties, and several others grouped with it would make sure that these inshore fisheries and conservation authorities will, indeed, pay attention to both fisheries and conservation. In my view, Clause 149 still gives the slight flavour that sea fisheries are the primary objective, by saying that the first objective is managing, ""the exploitation of sea fisheries resources"." Meanwhile, given that that management is the primary duty, the paragraphs in the following subsection—about seeking to ensure this and that—are a bit weak. My amendment would bring sustainable development and conservation up to head the list, making sure that they have their proper and prominent place. That is in line with the recommendation by the Joint Committee on the draft marine Bill. The amendment tries to put a more prominent and stronger duty on IFCAs in respect of sustainable development, furthering the conservation of the marine environment and coastal flora and fauna. Several of the other amendments use different wording to that end, but it is comforting to know that concern and disquiet about this issue is felt by Members all around the Committee. Equivalent proposals in similar terms were put forward for the Marine Management Organisation, which would mean that at least two of the bodies in the marine environment would be singing from roughly the same hymn sheet and have consistent environmental responsibilities. In their response to the consultation and the Joint Committee, the Government said that the duty on IFCAs to realise the social and economic benefits of these resources in sustainable ways is a sufficient protection and provides an adequate balance. I do not think that it does. In the previous debate on the membership of IFCAs, the Minister was keen on the issue of balance, but the reality is that the history over the past 35 to 40 years of the management of our marine resources, particularly fish stocks, shows that virtually without exception social and economic issues have taken precedence over environmental ones. Jobs and livelihoods have always had more political purchase than environment and conservation. Quotas, catch limits and issues of decommissioning and exclusion zones have been driven by those arguments. In signalling to the IFCAs that they must take a balanced approach, we have to jack up the importance placed on conservation and the environment by putting them right at the top and giving them a better profile. I am sure that other noble Lords will express similar sentiments on this issue and I beg to move.