Commentary on provisions of Act Licensing of fishing boats Section 16: Foreign fishing boats required to be licensed if within British fishery limits
This section prohibits fishing by foreign fishing boats unless they have a licence issued by a Fisheries Administration. This is a new requirement which reflects the fact that, in future, access for foreign boats to fish in UK waters will be a matter for negotiation, implemented partly through UK licensing.
	Subsection (1) prohibits fishing within British fishery limits (which is the UK EEZ) by foreign boats unless they have a licence. Subsection (2) exempts foreign fishing boats fishing in the waters of the Isle of Man from requiring a licence under subsection (1).
	Subsection (3) gives the Secretary of State a power, by regulation, to amend subsection (2) (e.g. by adding further exemptions). Subsection (4) requires that the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers and the Northern Ireland department consent to any regulations made under subsection (3).
	Subsection (5) provides that regulations under subsection (3) are subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.
	Subsection (6) makes it an offence for a boat to fish in contravention of the requirement in subsection (1) and makes this an offence of the master, owner and charterer of the boat.
	Subsection (7) refers to further offence provisions on penalties, offences by bodies corporate, etc, in the Act
	Subsection (7) defines "licence" for the purpose of this section.