§ Lord Mason of Barnsleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many fishing licences have been sold by UK fishermen under the quota hopping system; from which of the UK ports were they sold; and what is the estimated total value of those licences.
Lord LucasWe estimate that there are some 150 fishing vessels on the UK register with significant146WA foreign interests. Of these, about one-third were registered prior to the application of restrictive licensing arrangements. Each of the remaining vessels will have been licensed through the transfer on to them of one or more licences from other British registered fishing vessels. Information on the total number of licences transferred, and on the ports of origin, is not readily available. Data on the value of those fishing licences is not held by the Fisheries Department, since this is a commercial matter for the parties concerned in each transaction.