Clause 1 - Marine sites of special interest
Marine Wildlife Conservation Bill
10:30 am
Mr Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby, Labour)
I am pleased to serve again under your chairmanship, Mr. Gale—although I hope that this Committee stage does not last as long as the Committee stage of the Transport Bill last year. That was so memorable that medals should have been handed out.
The hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mr. Thomas) mentioned his experience of marine environments. The part of the country that I represent has many fishing interests, and I wonder whether the amendment will afford them enough time, bearing in mind the concerns of the fishing industry. Fishermen work strange hours and have difficulty in getting to meetings. Even three months might not be sufficient time to allow those stakeholders to play an important part in the consultation.