British Fisheries Minister Tony Baldry said on Monday that Britain would block progress on an inter-governmental conference (IGC) reviewing the European Union Treaty until the issue of fishing quota hoppers was settled.
We are not going to allow the IGC to conclude until the whole issue of quota hopping is resolved, Baldry told reporters on arrival at a meeting of EU fisheries ministers.
The IGC, which is due to end in June, is discussing changes in the way the EU operates in preparation for the membership of up to 10 east European countries.
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Britain strongly objects to the practice of quota hopping under which fishing vessels from other member states, notably Spain and the Netherlands, register under the British flag and are able to take British fish catch quotas.
This is a crazy situation whereby over a quarter of the UK fishing fleet tonnage is now effectively foreign owned, skippered and controlled, Baldry said.
Everyone in the UK wants to see UK fish for UK fishermen.
Baldry, whose Conservative Party is battling for re-election at national polls on May 1, reiterated that Britain would not implement any further fishing fleet cuts until the quota hoppers issues had been settled.