Fishing Licences (Hansard, 3 May 1984)

§ 1. Mr. Nicholls
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the problems involved in issuing fishing licences to the United Kingdom fishing industry.

§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. John MacGregor)
Following the announcement of new pressure stock licensing arrangements on 3 February, representations were received on individual cases of eligibility for licences and on the principles of the system. After careful consideration we have modified some of the rules, in particular to allow licences for vessels acquired by fishermen who were temporarily without a vessel on 3 February but could demonstrate a recent history of pressure stock fishing. But the basic purpose of the schemes, namely the containment of the number of vessels able to fish for pressure stock, stands and has the broad backing of the fishing industry.

§ Mr. Nicholls
Bearing in mind the problem that United Kingdom fishermen in general could have faced with 524 regard to pressure licensing, is my hon. Friend satisfied that the measures that he has announced will have the widespread support of the industry?

§ Mr. MacGregor
Yes, I think that there is widespread recognition among fishermen of the need for some measure of restrictive licensing, although, of course, we shall wish to continue to monitor the new arrangements. However, I believe that the amended measures, which are designed both to protect the benefits of the decommissionning scheme and to tie in with the arrangements needed for quota management for conservation purposes, provide a fair and flexible basis.

§ Mr. Wallace
Does the Minister recognise that one of the long-term fears of the fishing industry in certain communities is that, on transfer of boats, licences may be lost from some communities which are heavily dependent upon fishing and become concentrated in a few hands? What steps does he propose to take to avert any such danger?

§ Mr. MacGregor
That would happen only if those who had the boats in the first place decided to get rid of them. One of the safeguards therefore lies in the hands of the fishermen themselves. However, the system is new and we shall continue to monitor it.

§ Mr. Austin Mitchell
For Grimsby, the main problem connected with licences is that people who may want to come into the industry in future should be able to do so and to concentrate at a port such as Grimsby.
The immediate problem for those with licences is the cod quota. Forty-five tonnes of cod per month is an inadequate catch for the cat class vessels and the pair trawlers. Will the Minister consider allowing the quota to be caught in three-monthly sectors so that vessels can catch up and lay up?

§ Mr. MacGregor
I have endeavoured to make the licensing system as flexible as possible, because I do not want to restrict the fishing industry too much. There must be restrictions in the case of pressure stocks, but I have attempted to give flexibility to enable fishermen to cope with such problems.
There is a later question on the Order Paper about quota management. The move to monthly quotas will undoubtedly help, and we are considering the possibility of sectoral quotas for recognised groups of vessels, which might also help ports such as Grimsby.

§ Mr. Kennedy
Will the Minister take careful account of the representations that he has received from the Scottish Fishermen's Federation and the Highlands and Islands Fishermen's Association about a deferment of the minimum landing size for lobsters?

§ Mr. MacGregor
That is a completely different question, but I can tell the hon. Gentleman that we have recently been in touch with various organisations about that matter.

§ Mr. Donald Stewart
As the Minister is so concerned about licensing, why does he turn his face so strongly against licensing lobster fishing boats?

§ Mr. MacGregor
One of the important points in that regard is that we have a minimum limit of 10 metres below which there is no licensing in the licensing system for pressure stocks. In the vast majority of cases the lobster fishing industry was looking for licensing below 10 525 metres. It is not clear whether we need that for conservation resons, and there are enormous administrative and other difficulties associated with operating it on that basis.