Marine Fisheries Agency

Mr. Hayes
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the measures taken by the Marine Fisheries Agency to manage UK fishing fleet capacity referred to on page 177 of his Department's annual report were; what the cost of the measures has been to date; what measure is used of their effectiveness; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Bradshaw
The Marine Fisheries Agency delivers a wide range of services in support of fisheries management and environmental conservation. One of its functions is to manage fishing fleet capacity on behalf of DEFRA. The main measures and activities undertaken by the agency in this area include

i. Licensing of all England and Wales fishing vessels to control the capacity and fishing activity.

ii. Implementation of rules and limitations on fishing fleet capacity and regimes based on:

reliable and accurate data;

effective enforcement.

iii. Provision of detailed guidance to industry on the application of days at sea arrangements, for example, cod and sole.

The unaggregated costs to the agency of these measures could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

The agency's measures of effectiveness in relation to its activities refer to the efficiency in fulfilling its obligations for issuing fishing vessel licences, recovery scheme entitlements, processing transfers of “days” in the two recovery areas and monthly entries and exits to the fleet to ensure no increase in overall capacity.