PART IV: CONTROL
AND ENFORCEMENT
UK
ARRANGEMENTS
Responsibilities for fisheries control and enforcement
4.1 Responsibility for fisheries control
and enforcement in the UK in relation to the Common Fisheries
Policy is shared between the four UK Fisheries Departments:
— Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food (MAFF);
— Welsh Office Agriculture Department
(WOAD);
— Scottish Office, Agriculture, Environment
and Fisheries Department (SOAEFD); and
— Department of Agriculture for Northern
Ireland (DANI).
4.2 In England and Wales control and enforcement
is undertaken by MAFF's Sea Fisheries Inspectorate assisted by
the Royal Navy; in Scotland by the Sea Fisheries Inspectorate
within the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (an executive
agency of the Scottish Office), which also has its own ships and
aircraft; and in Northern Ireland by DANI's own Fisheries Inspectorate.
Departments also use aerial surveillance to assist in this work.
The Inspectorates of all Departments enforce both national and
Community fisheries legislation.
4.3 Enforcement activity in England and
Wales is also carried out by the Sea Fisheries Committees (SFCs).
These are local authority committees funded by their constituent
authorities. There are 12 Committees around the coast of England
and Wales. Their districts have in most cases been extended as
far as the six mile limit. Their main task is to promote and regulate
fishing activity within their districts through their byelaws.
SFC fisheries officers are also empowered to enforce certain national
and CFP measures concerned with technical conservation, principally
minimum landing sizes and minimum mesh sizes. In this work the
SFC officers liaise closely with the MAFF's Sea Fisheries Inspectorate.
Size of the enforcement task
4.4 The UK has some 725,000 sq km of water
under her jurisdiction and has a coastline of some 16,000 km with
over 450 locations at which fish may be landed on shore. There
are currently some 2,400 UK vessels with an overall length of
10 metres or more and some 6,000 vessels below 10 metres which
mainly fish inshore within the six mile limit. It is estimated
that there are some 1,100 businesses engaged in the merchandising,
processing, distribution or transportation of fish. In addition
to UK vessels, up to 1,000 vessels from other Member States and
third countries fish in UK waters.
4.5 In 1997 there were more than 170,000
landings by over 10 metre vessels into UK ports and an estimated
500,000 landings by vessels under 10 metres. A total of 603,000
tonnes of fish was landed with a value of £467 million. A
further 288,000 tonnes of fish was landed abroad by UK vessels
with a value of £155 million.
Enforcement activity
4.6 Enforcement activity in the UK takes
place on land, in the air and at sea with a high level of integration.
4.7 On land the main enforcement tasks are
to:
— collect and check information on
the quantities and species of fish landed which is used to monitor
the uptake against quota;
— verify the accuracy of landings data
by cross checks against log books and sales declarations (including
the area of capture using aerial and surface surveillance data)
and by routine and random physical checks on fish as it is landed;
— ensure compliance with EU regulations
on the grading and marketing of fish;
— check compliance with EU and national
regulations on fishing vessel licensing and registration, gear,
undersize fish, fishing prohibitions, etc; and
— investigate offences and take appropriate
enforcement action, which may include the submission of the necessary
casework to allow the appropriate authorities within the UK to
consider prosecution.
4.8 In the air, surveillance aircraft are
deployed to provide information about vessel sightings. This enables
the UK Fisheries Departments to:
— maintain a deterrent presence;
— construct a picture of fishing activities
within British Fishery Limits by nationality, vessel and gear
type;
— make effective use of protection
vessel time by co-ordinated use of surveillance data;
— verify information on vessel position
stated in logbooks; and
— identify and collect evidence on
certain types of fishery offence (eg vessels fishing contrary
to regulations).
4.9 At sea the main enforcement tasks are
to:
— maintain a deterrent presence by
sighting and boarding vessels;
— ensure that fishing gear complies
with national and Community regulations;
— ensure that undersize fish are not
being retained on board;
— check that data being recorded in
logbooks are correct, in particular ensuring that quantities and
species are not being misrecorded and/or stored in hidden fish
rooms;
— check compliance with access and
prohibited area provisions, and licence conditions; and
— take appropriate action on suspected
offences.
4.10 During 1997 the UK control authorities
carried out a total of 56,216 inspections on land, 4,080 inspections
at sea and made 39,939 sightings by aerial surveillance. A total
of 1,601 infringements of European Union fishing regulations were
detected in respect of 790 vessels. During 1997 the masters and/or
owners of some 123 vessels were prosecuted in respect of 184 infringements
detected in that or earlier years.
Resources devoted to control and enforcement
4.11 The number of inspectors, fisheries
patrol vessels and aircraft deployed on fisheries control and
enforcement work in 1997 are set out in the following table:
| Inspectors |
Patrol vessels | Aircraft
|
| | |
|
England and Wales
| 71
| 9 | 3
|
Scotland
| 68 |
7 | 2 |
Northern Ireland
| 16
| 1 | 0
|
Total
| 155 |
17 | 5 |
Expenditure on UK fisheries control and enforcement
4.12 The UK Fisheries Departments currently spend some
£24 million a year on fisheries enforcement broadly as follows:
Enforcement on land £6 million;
Surface surveillance £13.5 million;
Aerial surveillance £4.5 million;
4.13 The UK fishing industry does not contribute directly
to the cost of fisheries enforcement. One way in which a contribution
could be made would be charging vessel owners for fishing vessel
licences. However, it is recognised that any move to impose such
charges on the UK fishing industry would be extremely unwelcome
and, following the outcome of its Comprehensive Spending Review,
the Government has decided that it does not intend to pursue this
course of action at the present time. In any event, careful consideration
of the implications at EU level would be required before any action
was taken.
Designated landing ports
4.14 An important priority for the Government has been
to tackle the problem of undeclared landings of fish in the UK.
Such landings are damaging efforts to conserve fish stocks, undermine
the price of fish and threaten the long-term future of the fishing
industry.
4.15 In March 1998 the Fisheries Departments issued a
consultation paper on plans to introduce a new licence requirement
for prior notification of landings by vessels of 20 metres or
greater length fishing for non-pelagic species. The requirement
would not apply, however, when landings took place within specified
times at designated ports. (Vessels fishing for pelagic species
are already covered by a management regime geared to named landing
and trans-shipment ports.) The proposals are designed to facilitate
monitoring of landings by sea fisheries inspectors and should
thus assist in deterring and detecting undeclared landings of
fish without imposing unnecessary burdens on those engaged in
legitimate fishing activity. The response to the consultation
exercise is currently being considered.
4.16 The Government is also seeking amendments to Community
legislation which would allow a Member State operating a national
designated ports scheme to apply such measures to all other vesssels
landing into its territory.
Satellite monitoring
4.17 A significant development in the area of fisheries
control has been the adoption of Community rules for the introduction
of satellite monitoring of Community vessels over 24 metres overall
length. This will complement existing aerial and surface surveillance
and will progressively enhance the effectiveness and efficiency
of fisheries enforcement within the UK and across the Community.
4.18 Member States are required to establish satellite
tracking systems for monitoring the movements of fishing vessels
by 1 July 1998 and to apply these to vessels over 24 metres operating
on the high seas or engaged in industrial fishing. Satellite monitoring
is to apply also to all other vessels over 24 metres from 1 January
2000. A contract to establish the UK's vessel monitoring system
was awarded in June 1998 to Racal Thorn Wells and should be fully
operational by the end of 1998. Other Member States are operating
to a similar timetable. It is expected that some 500 UK vessels
will have to carry satellite monitoring equipment by1 January
2000. The cost of installing, operating and maintaining satellite
monitoring equipment on board fishing vessels is to be met by
the fishing industry.
FISHERIES ENFORCEMENT
IN OTHER
MEMBER STATES
4.19 Council Regulation 2847/93 (the control regulation)
which came into operation on 1 January 1994, provides for compliance
with the rules of the CFP. Under this regulation each Member State
is required to:
— operate control systems for monitoring and enforcing
quota management, conservation, structural and market measures;
— ensure that appropriate measures are taken, including
administrative action and criminal proceedings, to deal with infringements;
— notify the Commission of:
— the laws, regulations or administrative action adopted to prevent and prosecute irregularities;
— the changes made to the minimum and maximum fines
provided for in respect of each type of infringement and to the
other forms of sanction available;
— the results of inspection or monitoring carried out,
including the number and type of infringement discovered and the
action taken; and
— submit annual reports on their monitoring activities
to the Commission including an assessment of the technical and
human resources used and the measures that might be taken to alleviate
any deficiences discovered.
4.20 The most recent and comprehensive information on
fisheries enforcement activity carried out by individual Member
States is contained in the Commission's annual reports for 1994
and 1995 on monitoring the application of the CFP. Annual reports
on the enforcement activity in Member States during 1996 and 1997
have yet to be published.
4.21 The effectiveness and efficiency of fisheries enforcement
arrangements applied by Member States are a matter for the Commission
as part of its overall responsibilty for monitoring Member States'
compliance with Community rules. However, the Government has been
active in promoting a wide ranging debate in Europe on the need
to harmonise and strengthen standards of enforcement throughout
the Community.
4.22 In response to UK Presidency priorities, the Commission
issued a Communication on Fisheries Monitoring under the Common
Fisheries Policy in February 1998. That Communication provides
a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the present
arrangements and highlights the areas where improvements could
be made. These include:
— improving compliance with existing control measures;
— promoting greater transparency of the resources
deployed and the enforcement activities undertaken by Member States;
and
— encouraging greater co-operation between Member
States and the Commission.
4.23 In the light of discussion in the Fisheries Council,
in May 1998, the Commission published detailed proposals to amend
the fisheries control regulation. They contain a series of amendments
aimed at strengthening monitoring, inspection and surveillance
arrangements throughout the fisheries sector. They also address
the shortcomings in the present Community control arrangements
which have come to light since the control regulation came into
effect on 1 January 1994. If adopted, the proposals are due to
come into force on 1 January 1999. These proposals form part of
a detailed plan prepared by the Commission on the action that
can be taken over the next two to three years to improve the effectiveness
of enforcement. The Fisheries Council has agreed to monitor progress
against this plan on the basis of annual reports from the Commission.
30 October 1998
| 
