Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the present size of the Northern Ireland fishing fleet; what was its size in each of the last five years; how many boat owners have sought the financial incentives available to decommission their boats in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [19872]
§ Mr. AncramThe number of licensed vessels in the Northern Ireland fishing fleet at the end of February 1996 and at the end of December of each of the previous five years is shown in the table.
Length Over 10 metres 10 metres and under 1996 199 163 1995 207 161 1994 215 154 1993 219 139 1992 253 n/a 1991 257 n/a For 1991 to 1993 the information is shown by registered length and from 1994 by overall length. The licensing of 10 m and under vessels was introduced with effect from 1 May 1993.
There were no UK fishing vessel decommissioning schemes in 1991 and 1992. Under the 1993, 1994 and 1995 UK schemes 68, 84 and 30 applications respectively were received from Northern Ireland vessel owners. Under the 1995 Northern Ireland decommissioning scheme for nephrops vessels, 23 applications were received