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Conservative MP for St Ives Derek Thomas says Cornish fish is of a high quality and he has no doubt that the EU will continue to buy it after Brexit.

He asks Michael Gove to raise with the prime minister his communities' concerns about permanent workers after Brexit however and to ensure those who work in the fishing industry from overseas do not lose their jobs.

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Labour Owen Smith says he has a great interest in this bill "as a keen angler myself".

Mr Smith says "the Common Fisheries Policy is one of the great failures of the EU - it does not work for environment, or for the industry."

He says "the hollowness of the Brexiteers claims has been exposed by the lack of detail in this bill," adding that "the bill is long on rhetoric and short on detail."

Mr Smith says "nothing is yet decided and agreed" about the future of our fisheries, and calls for Michael Gove "to be very honest about what the impact of Brexit could really be in this area".

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Tory Steve Double says this is the first time Parliament has been able to debate primary fishing legislation for many decades.

"It is a sad but well established fact that fishing communities have not been served well by EU membership".

Fishing communities were "sacrificed as a bargaining chip" for membership of the European single market, he says, and as a result many fishing communities do not trust government.

"It is vital that we do not again sell out our fishermen."

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Plaid Cyrmu's Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts asks what plans the government have to set aside financial support for fishermen in the case of a no deal Brexit.

She says only 27% of the Welsh quota of fish is caught in UK waters, and asks how much responsibility will be devolved to Wales for assessing quota levels post-Brexit.

"The reality of the government's position is that fishing opportunities under the withdrawal agreement remain utterly uncertain," she says, "fishing communities seek clarity and certainty and this government offers neither."

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Conservative Peter Aldous says he hopes the bill will help regenerate the fishing industry in his constituency.

"East Anglia sits next to one of the richest fishing fields in Europe, but little local benefit is derived from it."

The existing fishing quota has failed British fishermen, he says.

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Labour MP Melanie Onn says "there needs to be a sense of realism in this debate" as many MPs "are leading people down a false road".

She says fishermen and everyone associated with the industry "need to be heard more, and need to be provided with more certainty".

Ms Onn calls for a review in the quota system and for more certainty that "strong trading relationships with the EU will be maintained".

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Conservative MP Richard Drax says trust in Parliament "has dipped to a terrible ebb", with the prime minister giving "incompatible" statements on whether Brexit will happen.

"Our EU allies and friends are plotting and scheming behind the scenes", he says, with plans to force the UK to align rules with the EU, who "will hold the controls".

The fishing communities "will not be sold out" for some other deal with the EU, he states.

"Get us out of the EU, totally and utterly", he tells his frontbench colleagues.

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The DUP's Ian Pailsey, who returns to the Commons today after his 30 day ban following a breach of parliamentary rules over a luxury trip paid for by the Sri Lankan government, is next to speak on the Fisheries Bill.

"The people of the UK took a decision and it's time to leave," he says.

Mr Paisley says Ireland has created a hard border for County Down fishermen, and have chosen to have discussions about the hard border because "it has taken away attention from questions over what trading relationship Ireland should have with the United Kingdom".

"The hard border was a camouflage for the more important issue," he says.

He adds that if there is no deal, Ireland would lose £5.5bn in its agri-food industry.

Mr Paisley calls for "greater investment in coastal towns to increase their production ability" which he says "is critical across our nation", and for "more clarity of long term plans for our fishermen".

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Conservative Priti Patel says it is right that the "subjection" of the fishing industry and communities under the EU of the past 40 years comes to an end.

The EU allocates more British waters to foreign fleets than our own, she says, "two thirds of fish caught in UK waters is done by EU fleets".

Clarity is needed to show that the UK is not leaving the Common Fisheries Policy "in name only". To remain part of the CFP after Brexit would be a "travesty", she says.

"We should be working from the principle that the fish within our seas are ours. The starting point should not be based on the current EU agreements in the CFP."

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Nancy Astor - or Viscountess Astor - was the first female MP to take her seat in the House of Commons.

In 1919, Astor was elected in a by-election for Plymouth Sutton and went on to represent the constituency for the Conservative Party until 1945.

A portrait relief of Nancy Astor by Michael Rizzello (below) was presented to the House of Commons in 1996 by the Astor family. It is on permanent display on Committee Corridor in the House of Commons.

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SNP MP Brendan O'Hara says he is "aware of the dangers faced by fisherman" and says the withdrawal agreement "does not provide the frictionless trade that fisherman want and need".

"It puts Scottish fishing industry at a disadvantage to that of Northern Ireland," he says. "We desperately need the ability to recruit more fisherman and more investment is needed to do this."

Mr O'Hara says "the Conservative party were complicit to the creation of the Common Fisheries Policy" and they should remember when they criticise it that "their fingerprints are all over it".

"Time and time again the Conservative party have hindered the Scottish government's fishing industry and hung us out to dry," he says. "The promises to the Scottish fishermen made before the last election were absolutely worthless."

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Since the introduction of the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act in 1918, 491 women have been elected to the House of Commons compared with 4,503 men.

That isn't even enough elected women to fill one of House of Commons (there are 650 constituencies).

At this rate it will take 50 years to achieve gender equality amongst MPs.

The #askhertostand campaign are calling for a 50:50 Parliament.

Backed by MPs from all parties and you can read all about it here., external

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Liberal Democrat Alistair Carmichael questions how the voice of UK fishermen is going to be heard during the period after March and before the end of 2020 when the transitional arrangements come to an end.

"If you're not at the table, you will be on the menu" and that this is "the real risk" that the UK faces during this transitional period, he says.

Mr Carmichael questions how the UK can ensure they are not "again rolled over by the EU".

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100 years ago in 1918, the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act was passed.

This legislation enabled women to become MPs for the first time, allowing them to sit and vote in the House of Commons.

Today, female MPs in Westminster are celebrating the milestone and encouraging more women to stand for Parliament.

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Conservative MP Mark Francois raises a point of order, saying in the last hour journalists in Brussels have reported that the European Summit this weekend could be cancelled.

He asks for a minister to come to the house before 7pm to "clarify the situation".

Deputy Speaker Dame Eleanor Laing says she has had "no such notice of any minister coming to the chamber" and that she has "every confidence" that as soon as a minister has something important to say "he or she will come to the house and say it".

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Conservative MP Scott Mann says the Fisheries Bill is "ambitious" but that he is "concerned about the impact of the current withdrawal agreement could have over the sovereignty of British fishing".

"This is a time for the UK to demonstrate strong leadership, and to show it can be serious about the protection of our seas and the fish in it," he adds.

Mr Mann says if the implementation period is extended "we will still be subject to some EU fishing laws", and calls for the implementation period "to come to an end as soon as possible".

He calls for a a law to come in as soon as this bill becomes legislation to ensure that fishing managers cannot set fishing levels "above scientific recommendations".

An expert in EU law argues the NI protocol of the Brexit withdrawal deal breaches the Good Friday Agreement.

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Labour MP Alan Campbell says "in taking back control, ministers need to recognise they need to own their decisions and they will not have the EU to hide behind."

He says in becoming an independent coastal state, the UK will lose access to the European Maritime Fisheries Fund which gave the UK's fishing industry £190m between 2014 and 2020.

"There are no guarantee these funds will be replaced," he says "which may really hit seaside towns."

He warns the government not to forget about investing money in the regeneration of seaside towns as well as the fishing industry, but asks where this money will come from, and for the government to confirm no charging regime affecting small fishing businesses will be implemented.

Mr Campbell says "there's a lot of good ideas in the bill which should be imposed if there's a deal or if there's not."

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Conservative MP David Duguid says "being an independent coastal state offers us great opportunities."

He says "we must resist the EU's demand for any continued automatic access to our waters" and not use this as a compromise with any trade deals, in order for the UK to "sufficiently benefit from being an independent coastal state".

Mr Duguid says "this bill will make fishing a more sustainable industry than it has been, and the whole industry can undergo a regeneration."