§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the size of the fishing fleets of Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia; and what historic fishing rights each of these nations can claim in British or European waters before the Fishing Limits Act 1976. [25382]
§ Mr. JackThe latest year for which information on the size of nations' fishing fleets is available is 1992, showing the following:
Country Number of vessels Size Bulgaria 38 186,600 GRT Poland 521 249,079 GRT Latvia 141 343,236 GRT Lithuania 162 236,268 GRT Estonia 249 180,921 GRT Source: FAO fleet statistics. 1 GRT = gross registered tonnage. Before the Fishery Limits Act 1976, British waters extended only to 12 miles. None of the above countries fished within our 12 mile limits, nor have they claimed historic fishing rights within the British fishing limits established in 1976. The EU currently has reciprocal fishing agreements with Poland and the three Baltic states, but these are confined to the Baltic sea. We have no record of Bulgarian vessels having fished in waters around the United Kingdom.