§ Baroness HORNSBY-SMITHasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to relieve the problems facing the south-west inshore fishermen and the local fishing ports as a result of the increasing number of factory ships taking the greater part of the seasonal catches direct from non-local trawlers.
Earl FERRERSThe present mackerel licensing arrangements seek to strike as fair a balance as possible between all the United Kingdom interests involved in this fishery. In recognition of the needs of local boats, handliners and vessels of under 40 ft. registered length are exempt from the licensing requirements altogether, vessels of over 60 ft. registered length are prohibited from fishing within 3 miles of the coast of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and, under revised arrangements announced in July this year, vessels of 60 ft. and over registered length were not permitted to fish for mackerel off the South-West until 4th November.