§ Mr. HarrisTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many boats on the United Kingdom fishing vessel register are in foreign ownership; and, of these, how many were registered(a) while in such ownership and (b) as a result of the vessels being sold by United Kingdom owners to foreign interests. [18960]
§ Mr. NorrisI have asked the chief executive of the Marine Safety Agency to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from R. M. Bradley to Mr. David Harris, dated 7 March 1996:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about vessels on the UK Fishing Vessel Register which are in foreign ownership.
When the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1992 came into force in March 1994, the information you asked for ceased to be available. It is still possible to identify the nationality of individual owners but many fishing vessels are owned by companies and the nationality of the shareholders of these companies cannot be ascertained.
Before March 1994, the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 provided that corporate owners of fishing vessels registered in the United Kingdom had to be made up mainly of qualified shareholders. A company had therefore to complete a declaration that its shareholding complied with the Act. After the 1993 regulations came into force, the only requirement for eligibility in respect of companies is that they be incorporated in a member state of the European Economic Area and have a place of business in the UK. As a result of this change, it is no longer necessary to know the nationality of the shareholders and no such information is now collected.