To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs what plans he has to ensure that recreational sea anglers are consulted on the implementation of Marine Protected Areas.

My Department recognises the value of stakeholder engagement on all aspects of marine management and stakeholder lists include recreational sea anglers who have asked to receive correspondence.

The Strategy for Marine Protected Areas in the Northern Ireland inshore region commits my Department to engaging with stakeholders throughout the designation process and when developing management actions. In addition, the Northern Ireland Federation of Sea Anglers is represented on my Department’s Inshore Fisheries Partnership Group.

The Interreg Va funded MarPAMM (Marine Protected Area Management and Monitoring) project is developing regional Marine Protected Area management plans and the interests of recreational sea anglers are represented on the Irish Regions stakeholder steering group by the Northern Ireland Federation of Sea Anglers.

Any individual or organisation that would like to be consulted on the matters relating to Marine Protected Areas can register their interest by emailing MarineConservation@daera-ni.gov.uk