May 1, 2013 — In the UK, the High Court is being asked to make a judgement over the question of who owns the fish in the sea.
The government wants to reallocate unused quota worth more than £1m from big firms to small-scale fishermen.
But the UK Association of Fish Producer Organisations says the government cannot do this without its consent.
It is asking the High Court to rule on whether the allocation of a quota confers a permanent right to fish yet to be caught.
Fishing quotas are a licence to make a living from the seas. Without them you cannot legally catch and sell fish.
UKAFPO members, mainly large-scale fishermen, currently control more than 90% of the overall fishing quota for England and Wales.
And small-scale fishing round Britain’s traditional ports has suffered because crews have been unable to negotiate control of enough of the quota to stay in business.
But large fleets have left about 800 tonnes of their quota untouched for years, so the Fisheries Minister, Richard Benyon, decided to confiscate that amount of the quota to share out among small operators.
Read the full story at BBC News