Vol. 489 No. 3
36 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if it will be necessary for all small fishing boats to register for a licence to fish under the new scheme recently announced by him; and if it will be an offence if the owners of those fishing crafts continue to fish without making an application for a licence and registration. [7978/98]
All vessels which engage in commercial sea fishing require a licence under the Fisheries Acts, 1959 to 1997, and must also be registered as sea fishing boats under the Merchant Shipping (Registry, Lettering and Numbering of Fishing Boats) Regulations, 1997. The only exceptions to these requirements are vessels powered by oars or vessels engaged in fishing for salmon or eels. It is an offence under the Fisheries Acts to engage in sea fishing without the appropriate authorisations.
The scheme referred to by the Deputy is a special one intended to regularise the position of mainly small vessels which, although part of the fishing fleet, have never been formally licensed or registered. Applications under this scheme are being processed as a priority and successful applicants are being issued with licences as quickly as possible.
Any licence applications from boat owners who should be licensed and registered but did not apply under the special scheme will be considered for licensing in the normal way under the relevant licensing criteria.
