Quota Hopping (Hansard, 22 June 1990)

§ Mr. Curry

The Government are firmly committed to the view that quotas allocated to this country under the 1983 agreement on the common fisheries policy should be for the benefit of British fishing communities. The measures that we have taken to deal with the problem of quota hopping uphold the common fisheries policy and its essential components—national quotas and relative stability.

The action that we have taken to seek to ensure that the quota system operates for the benefit of the genuine United Kingdom fishing fleet has been on two fronts. First, we have imposed operating conditions to ensure that fishing vessels entitled to fly the United Kingdom flag have a real economic link with this country, through licence conditions imposed under powers contained in the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967. Secondly, we have gone to the heart of the problem by enacting the provisions of part 747W II of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988, as amended, where we require British- registered fishing vessels to be mainly owned, managed and controlled by people resident in Britain.

These provisions have been attacked in our courts by representatives of Spanish interests and questions have been referred to the European Court of Justice. The Commission has also taken proceedings, and is considering further proceedings, in the European Court of Justice.

We have defended, and will continue to defend, these cases before the Court of Justice. The recent judgments of the court in the Agegate and Jaderow cases, although critical of some aspects of our licence conditions concerned with the nationality and residence of crews, upheld our right to require fishing vessels to operate in a way which would ensure that vessels fishing against our national quotas should have a real economic link with this country. We will continue to enforce these conditions vigorously.

The substantive question whether the fishing vessel registration requirements of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 are compatible with Community law has still to be considered by the European Court of Justice. The recent judgment of the court in case 213/89 Factortame means that our national courts now have jurisdiction to grant interim protection of Community rights in appropriate cases, pending a final decision of the European Court. But it will be for our domestic courts to decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether interim protection should be given to individual quota hoppers and, if so, what conditions or limitations should be imposed. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport will continue to contest vigorously the grant of interim relief in the circumstances of this case.