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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many fishing vessels have been fly shooting in UK waters in the (a) southern North Sea and (b) English Channel in 2021; and of those vessels, how many (i) are foreign registered and (ii) have been able to demonstrate previous a track record of using this equipment in the same areas.

In 2021 there were nine UK vessels fishing with fly seining equipment in the southern North Sea and the English Channel in the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) areas 7d and 7e (these area codes refer to ICES Rectangles which are a sub-division of the sea surface area each approximately 30 nautical miles by 30 nautical miles in size; ICES Rectangle is the highest resolution of spatial landings data available for all UK fishing vessels). European vessels with fly seining equipment are listed on the public European Commission fleet register. Under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, licensing arrangements in the Territorial waters between the UK and the EU were based on vessels that were active in the respective zones during the reference period. This track record arrangement is not gear specific.