Foreign fishing vessels are “abusing” England’s waters with nearly 600 illegal infringements in the last five years, an MP has warned.

Marine protecting officials have taken action against at least 156 vessels so far this year – the highest in the last five years.

Reform UK Deputy Leader, Richard Tice MP said: “It’s clear that even though we are now meant to have taken back control of our fishing waters that more needs to be done. Foreign fishing vessels are abusing our waters and in 2024 to date over 156 offences have seen enforcement action taken, based on almost 600 infringements.

“The Tories failed our fishing industry and Labour refuse to even talk about it.”

He added: “Only Reform UK will stand up for our fishing industry and ensure they’re protected and allowed to thrive.”

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has boarded and inspected foreign vessels at sea on 1451 occasions since the start of 2019 to October 31 this year.

Infringements were detected during 585 of these inspections.

The minor sanctions issued range from verbal advice or an advice letter while more serious breaches result in an official written warning, a fixed administrative penalty or are referred for further investigation.

Of the offences so far this year, 105 were minor offences with the other 51 being more serious offences.

Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “It is concerning to see that the number of vessels caught illegally fishing in English waters is up, and I thank the MMO for the work that they do.

“Follow ing our decision to leave the European Union

 and take back control of our waters, the Conservative government required all foreign vessels to have a licence to fish in our waters. It is absolutely right that this is enforced.

“After 2026, negotiations on access to our waters will take place on an annual basis. I urge the Labour government to stand firm, and back our domestic fishing industry.”

There were 115 enforcement actions against foreign fishing vessels illegally in English waters last year down from 127 the previous two years.

All foreign vessels are required to have a valid foreign vessel licence issued by the UK Single Issuing Authority to fish in UK waters.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is one of the biggest threats to the ocean, the previous Tory government warned.

IUU fishing has also been linked to serious organised crime and multifaceted illegal activity, through drug and people smuggling, labour abuses and modern-day slavery.

It is estimated that IUU fishing is worth between £10 to £20 billion a year.

The MMO said it takes a “robust intelligence-led” approach to enforcement action against illegal fishing, including aerial, radar and electronic monitoring

This includes dedicated fisheries patrol vessels in English waters.

It said: “The MMO uses the various monitoring and enforcement measures at its disposal to endeavor to ensure protection of the marine environment, and that no party engaged in regulated activity gains an unfair market advantage by breaking the rules and that honest and law abiding people, organisations and industry are not disadvantaged by being compliant.”