PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Fisheries: Territorial Waters (6 November 2024)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will (a) introduce a licence fee for access to UK (a) territorial and (b) exclusive economic zone waters to foreign vessels granted permission to catch fish and (b) use that fee to invest in the UK fishing industry in 2026.

Asked by:
Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain)

The licensing of UK vessels to fish in UK waters is a devolved matter. The licensing of foreign fishing vessels to access UK territorial waters and exclusive economic zone is reserved.

Defra has no plans to introduce licence fees, although has powers to do so. Any fee would have to be non-discriminatory and apply to all vessels. Managing Public Money May 2023 would need to be taken into account. The general principle is that fees are to be used for cost recovery rather than investment.

Government funding schemes such as the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme in England, and the UK Seafood Fund, have provided investment and support for the fishing and seafood industry.

Answered by:
Daniel Zeichner (Labour)
11 November 2024