Of these, 117 licences have been issued for EU vessels to fish in the 6-12 nautical mile zone where supporting evidence of a track record was available…reports Asian Lite News.
UK on Tuesday announced that it would grant 12 out of 47 applications for new licences to small boats from the European Union to fish in its waters, drawing an angry response from France.
According to media reports, French fisherman have become increasingly angry over how UK has controlled access for EU boats into its waters.
Almost 1,700 EU vessels licences have now been licensed to fish in UK waters.
“Our approach has been reasonable and fully in line with our commitments in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA),” a government spokesperson has said.
Of these, 117 licences have been issued for EU vessels to fish in the 6-12 nautical mile zone where supporting evidence of a track record was available.
“As regards the 6-12nm zone, as set out in the TCA, EU vessels must provide evidence of a track record of fishing activity in those waters. We have been considering applications for vessels of under 12 m in length to fish in this zone and, on the basis of the evidence available, we are able to grant licences for 12 of the 47 applications made,” spokesperson added.
The government said there were 47 smaller vessels, under 12 metres, where data was less available and where further supporting evidence was requested to support their application to fish in the 6-12 nautical mile zone.
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement brought in changes to fishing arrangements between the UK and the EU. The UK is required to grant access to vessels which fished in the relevant parts of the UK’s 6-12 nautical mile zone in four out of five years between 2012 and 2016.