Written Statement - Devolution of Licensing and Quota for Fishing Vessels through the UK Fisheries Concordat

In my Statement on the Welsh Fisheries Strategy on 27 March 2012, I informed members that negotiations were progressing well to reach an agreement that will enable the respective devolved administrations to fully manage licensing and quota for their respective fishing vessels. Licensing and quota were the remaining elements of fisheries management that were not fully devolved.

I am pleased to inform members that those negotiations have now been concluded and I have reached agreement on the concordat which sets in motion plans to devolve licensing of Welsh vessels to Welsh Ministers from 1 October 2012, and for the Welsh Ministers to manage quota associated with Welsh vessels from January 2013.