Written question asked by Lord Spellar (Labour) on Wednesday, 20 July 2022, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 September 2022. It was answered by Steve Double (Conservative) on Monday, 5 September 2022 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Plankton: North Atlantic Ocean

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the sustainability of plankton levels in the North Atlantic.

Answer: As a contracting party to OSPAR, the regional seas convention covering the North-East Atlantic, the UK contributes to the assessment of plankton in the North-East Atlantic. Although the sustainability of plankton has not been specifically addressed by research at the North Atlantic scale, abundance and diversity of plankton in the North Atlantic is. These assessments indicate that there is variability in the plankton community, which is in accordance with the published scientific literature on plankton dynamics.

Secondary information