A U.K. fishing trade group lost a legal challenge against the British government that claimed a system of allocating quotas for stocks of fish discriminates against large ships.
The U.K. Association of Fish Producer Organisations had argued that the procedure, put in place by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2012, is illegal and deprives ships over 10 meters (33 feet) long of their entitlement.
There was no discrimination against larger ships and the decision to allocate quotas is justified, Judge Ross Cranston said in the ruling today.
In February 2012, the U.K. reduced the number of fixed-quota allocation units held by some members of English fish producer organizations and transferred them to ships less than 10 meters in order to maximize the quota available.
Fish are a scarce resource and decisions relating to it have important social, economic and environmental implications, Cranston said. The management of fish to ensure utilization of fish stocks is obviously a legitimate aim of public policy.
The government consultation prior to the new rule explained that some of the United Kingdom’s quota was not fished, which it described as a missed opportunity, according to the ruling. The consistent under-fishing pattern against some stocks suggested a more fundamental problem. In some cases, this un-fished quota would be of great benefit for the under 10 meter fleet.
Spokesmen for the U.K. Association of Fish Producer Organisations and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs declined to immediately comment.
The English fishing fleet consists of about 3,000 registered ships, mostly based in the south eastern and western regions of the country, according to the judgment. About 70 percent of those are active. More than 2,500 of the ships are shorter than 10 meters.
2013 Bloomberg L.P.