HL Deb 26 November 1985 vol 468 cc891-2WA
Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will list the fishing vessels registered under the British flag but owned by or chartered to:

  1. (a) Non-British but European, and
  2. (b) Non-European parties.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Transport (The Earl of Caithness)

In order to be registered in the British Isles (i.e. the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) a fishing vessel must be wholly owned by either British subjects or by companies incorporated and having their principal place of business in the British Isles. For this reason there are no fishing boats on the British Isles register that are owned by non-British individuals. But some vessels may be owned by companies that are controlled by non-British parties. The department has no information on the number of such vessels or the nationality of the non-British parties (if any). Nor does the department have any information about the chartering of fishing vessels. In addition, there are fishing vessels under the British flag that are registered in British Dependent Territories. There are 13 such territories and the regulations governing their registries are different both from those in the British Isles and from one territory to another. The department will provide the noble Lord with further details if he wishes, but we have no information on the chartering of fishing vessels on those registries.