AQW 25671/17-22

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 11/11/2021
Answered On Date: 30/11/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for a timetable for the development of a fisheries policies in line with the UK Fisheries Act 2020.

Answer:

Section 2 of the Fisheries Act 2020 (the Act) provides that the fisheries policy authorities must prepare and publish a document, to be known as a joint fisheries statement (a “JFS”). The JFS will set out the policies of the fisheries policy authorities in order to achieve or contribute to achieving the fisheries objectives as set out in section 1 of the Act. The JFS must be must be published by 23 November 2022.

The indicative timetable for the draft JFS is that it is expected to be laid in the Assembly (and simultaneously in the other legislatures in the United Kingdom) immediately after the Christmas recess ahead of the consultation on the draft JFS.

The consultation will run for twelve weeks from early in 2022. Post consultation, the Fisheries Departments will review the responses to it and prepare a final version of the JFS. Fisheries Ministers across the devolved administrations are expected to sign off on the final JFS after the summer recess in 2022, ahead of the deadline for publication of 23 November 2022.