Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government between 2010 and 2013, what criteria were used for granting fishing licences for the waters surrounding Ascension Island; and how licensing restrictions were enforced.

Between 2010 and 2013, all licensed vessels had to be flagged to an International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) registered state. The vessels were checked against the ICCAT Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing activities (IUU) blacklist. Vessel safety, scientific and location data collection and compliance with domestic fisheries legislation were the further criteria used for granting fishing licences. Enforcement of the fishing licences was limited to a fishery patrol in 2010.