of the nation's demand for fresh and smoked salmon. 

 Shrimp (prawns), Norway lobsters, crabs, mussels, 

 scallops, and other shellfish are also popular items. 

 UK fishermen are very independent and many 

 downplayed or resisted efforts by scientists or fishery 

 managers in the UK and the EC to warn them about 

 deteriorating stock conditions or conserving species.'' 

 This led to overfishing of key species, such as cod, 

 haddock, herring, and plaice in the North Sea and 

 whiting in the Irish Sea.' EC Fisheries 

 Commissioner Manuel Marin reported in December 

 1990, that reductions of as much as 40 percent were 

 needed to restore some North Sea stocks.' Fleet 

 reductions, special net mesh sizes and patterns, and 

 other programs are being implemented or studied as 

 a means of reducing by-catches of important species 

 and allowing the key species to recover. Despite 

 these problems, the UK fishing fleet appears healthy 

 and landings of fish and shellfish appear steady. An 

 overview of the United Kingdom fishing industry can 

 be seen in tables 1-3. 



2. Fleet Background 



The strong point of the UK fleet had always 

 been its distant-water capacity. Foremost among this 

 was the block freezer stem trawler fleet, which 

 originated in 1961 with the launching of the freezer 

 trawler Lord Nelson. In 1962 the Junella followed, 

 another freezer trawler with a 350 CRT capacity.' 

 These vessels fished in the Northwest and Northeast 

 Atlantic, as well as off the coasts of South Africa, 

 Australia, and South America.* The UK fleet 

 operated successfully from the 1960s until the early 

 to mid-1970s. 



The decline in the UK fishing fleet was signalled 

 by the move of many nations to extend their national 

 jurisdiction beyond the traditional 3 to 12 miles. The 

 most significant setback to the UK fleet came in 1972 

 and in 1975 when Iceland extended control over its 

 fisheries to 50 miles and then to 200 miles. These 

 lucrative fishing grounds had attracted hundreds of 

 UK fishing vessels and Iceland's move sparked a 

 bitter confrontation known as the "Cod Wars." 

 Ultimately Iceland prevailed and the UK fishing fleet 

 was forced out of the area. This pattern was 

 followed elsewhere in the world as many nations 

 extended their exclusive economic zones to 200 

 miles. The UK high-seas fleet declined from 143 

 vessels in 1975 to 18 vessels in 1986 (see table 1). 



In 1982, The Boyd Line sold the two largest UK 

 freezer stem trawlers, the Arctic Buccaneer and the 

 Arctic Galliard, both 86 meters in length, to Fletcher 

 Fishing of New Zealand.' The sale of the freezer 

 Pict in 1986, marked the end of the UK freezer 

 trawler fleet. Vessel owners continue to blame the 

 British government for having been unwilling to 

 support its fleet, as is the case with other EC states.'" 



UK fishermen believe they have fared poorly 

 since their nation's entry into the EC. They have 

 complained that other nations have won the right to 

 fish in UK waters at the same time that the overall 

 UK fishing effort has been curtailed, leaving the UK 

 even worse off than it had been before 200-niile 

 limits were established." They also argue that 

 Britain has been unwise in following EC guidelines to 

 the letter while other member states have repeatedly 

 ignored or failed to enforce these guidelines.'^ Flag 

 of convenience vessels have become a major concern 

 in the industry. A loophole in UK legislation allowed 

 foreign vessels (especially 62 Spanish vessels in 

 1984'^) to register under the British flag, allowing 

 those vessels to fish within Community waters, as 

 well as to evade stricter national regulations on the 

 Continent. A 1984 law required British flagged 

 vessels to be managed, directed, and controlled from 

 within the UK. In 1990, the UK Government 

 tightened these rales considerably, forcing all 

 operators in UK fishing waters to make at least four 

 visits to UK ports each year. "* 



The UK high-seas fleet underwent a dramatic 

 reversal in 1988, when it doubled in size from 20 

 vessels to 41 vessels. This growth can be partially 

 attributed to the Falkland's War, which opened up 

 that island's fishery resources to British fishermen 

 and also to the EC's vessel modemization program; 

 most of the British high-seas fleet has continued to 

 fish in the North Atlantic in recent years. This is 

 somewhat curious, since fishery biologists and 

 administrators have wamed fishermen of declining 

 stocks in the North Atlantic for several years. The 

 UK high-seas fleet included 51 vessels in 1993." 



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