Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

The by-laws are subject to the consideration of the Secretary of State. If we were dealing with an issue such as the noble Lord has described, where it looked as though an IFCA was acting in an arbitrary and less than fair manner, that issue would then be open to public debate because the Secretary of State would be reaching a judgment on it. I think that the noble Lord would accept, when he is talking about equipment, that here we have the clearest illustration of where changing technologies can impact on the marine environment in particular and even dramatic ways. It is therefore right, first, that we have the capacity for a by-law to be made and, secondly, that there is a framework in which it may be seen to be a fair and justifiable by-law.