Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on developing data exchange arrangements to identify the movement of (a) EU and (b) third country vessels in UK waters, and the movement of UK vessels in (i) EU and (ii) third country waters, after the UK leaves the EU.

There are two primary sources of data which can be used to monitor fishing vessel activity. Firstly, under International Maritime Organisation regulations, vessels over 300 tonnes must have automatic identification system (AIS); this is also an EU requirement for vessels over 15m in length and is used more widely as a safety aid. AIS is open source data available to all vessels wherever they are. Secondly, all EU vessels over 12m in length must have a vessel monitoring system while third country vessels in EU waters are required to have an operational satellite tracking system.

Data sharing arrangements between authorities are a standard condition of fisheries agreements.