Charter Boats Will Need A Licence

Monday, 23rd March 2009 – UKIP News Release

Britain’s recreational sea anglers will have to wait until next week before they find out if their sport is to remain free from regulation as a result of Brussels interference under Article 47 of the Common Fisheries Policy.

The EU Fisheries Committee, which was to meet today to vote on the policy has put off its gathering until March 31.

That means the nearly 400 amendments to the proposed policy will have to wait for a decision, among them four that suggested changes to Article 47 of which one explicitly excludes shore fishing from the new regulations.

UKIP’s petition calling for Article 47 to be scrapped has gathered more than 1,500 signatures and will be presented to the UK’s fisheries minister, Huw Irranca-Davies before next week’s meeting.

Spearheading the campaign to have Article 47 deleted, UKIP Leader Nigel Farage warned against complacency.

“Until any vote is counted, UK recreational sea anglers have no guarantee that their beloved sport will remain free of EU meddling,” he said.

“But thanks must go out to all the fishing organisations and individual anglers who have thrown their weight behind our campaign.”

Apart from the shore fishing exclusion, other amendments suggest maintaining the status quo until scientific and environmental impact studies can be completed. This would largely affect non-commercial fishing, such as boat charters.

But under Article 47, licensing of these operations is imminent and unless it is scrapped completely, UK charter boat operators are looking at the introduction of a licensing system within the next five years.