Fishing Vessels: Indian Ocean Tuna Commission

(asked on 3rd March 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many UK flagged fishing vessels are authorised to fish for stocks in the area governed by the Agreement for the Establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC); whether any of those vessels or their owner companies are foreign controlled; and what the actual or anticipated costs are of the UK’s membership of the IOTC under the Instrument of Acceptance it deposited with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation on 14 December 2020.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 12th March 2021

No UK-flagged fishing vessels have applied for a licence to fish in Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) waters in 2021, although licences can be applied for at any point during the year. The vessels that fish in the area are owned by UK-registered companies.

The UK’s role in the IOTC is to represent UK vessels that fish in IOTC waters; to represent the interests of the British Indian Ocean Territory; and to pursue the UK’s international marine and fisheries policy aims. The UK’s membership fee for 2021 is $157,340 (£113,002 at the time of writing).

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