Transport Secretary Mark Harper (pictured), who was ultimately responsible for the imposition of the ML5 medical certification requirements across the UK fishing fleet last year, admitted that he had ‘got it wrong’ at a meeting in Newlyn last week. The…
Whilst the MCA’s consultation on amendments to the new ML5 medical certification requirements closed on 27 February, the potential for considerable delay in announcing any outcome or decision is complicated by a growing expectation that prime minister Rishi Sunak may…
A press release jointly issued by the MCA and the Department for Transport last week took the industry by surprise, opening, as it did, a consultation on whether the ML5 requirements introduced across the entire fishing industry on 1 December…
Jerry Percy, director of NUTFA, which represents under-10m vessels, has said that the MCA’s introduction of compulsory medical certification for fishermen has been ‘a fiasco from start to finish’. On 29 November, 30 hours before the deadline by which all…
With the ML5 medical certification deadline just days away, the NFFO was attempting last week to clarify an additional issue with respect to its implementation in relation to vessel owners – an avenue that it says has been poorly explained…
It was promised in parliament on 13 July this year. After several postponements, Mark Harper, secretary of state for transport, finally met with Mike Cohen, the chief executive of the NFFO, on 25 October. The much-anticipated meeting was touted by…
The NFFO added its voice to that of the NUTFA last week, asking the MCA to paise the implementation of the ML5 requirements, which are due to come into effect on 1 December. In an open letter to the MCA…
Medical certificates, NGO pressures on prawn trawling, a possible cod quota cut in 2024 and shellfish deaths linked to dredging in the river Tees are all major issues facing fishermen in the North East of England. These issues were spelled…
The MCA and the UK Harbour Masters Association both confirmed last week that harbour masters will no longer be asked to provide written confirmation that in their opinion fishermen are fit enough to meet the requirements of the ML5 medical…
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