The committee said small vessels were losing out to large, commercial fishing enterprises The way ministers are managing the fishing industry in England and Wales has been criticised by MPs.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said it was “unacceptable” that the government was not monitoring the trading of EU fish quotas.
It said an unknown number were being bought and sold by people with little or no link to the industry “at the expense of working fishermen”.
The government said it had already proposed “radical reforms”.
Quota restrictions are in place for some species and limit the amount of fish which can legally be landed.
Under the current system, not all quotas are held by working fisherman. Some holders may be retired or inactive – so called “slipper skippers” – while others may be organisations or individuals outside the fishing industry.
These quotas may then be leased back to ordinary fishermen or traded for profit.
In their report, the committee members said they were “shocked” to discover that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) did not monitor who those outside holders were.
Anne McIntosh, the Tory MP who chairs the committee, said: “We are very concerned by the apparent turning of quota into a commodity at the expense of working fishermen, and we have called upon Defra to justify its position.
“Our report recommends that quota should only be held by working fishermen unless the holding of quota by outside interests can be shown to be of clear benefit to fishing communities.”
“The way fishing quotas are managed needs an overhaul”
Richard Benyon Fisheries Minister
The committee also said it was concerned that due to a historic miscalculation, smaller vessels under 10 metres (33ft) long had an unfairly small quota share compared with larger offshore enterprises.
It recommended a redistribution – a move that Ms McIntosh said would provide “a life-line for those fishing communities most vulnerable to the current rules”.
The MPs also urged Defra to do more to tackle the problem of discards, where fish are thrown back into the sea – often to die – because they are of an unwanted species or size, or because of quota restraints.
Celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has led a high-profile public campaign against the practice.
Ms McIntosh said: “We were encouraged to hear that Defra is already undertaking work to address this problem, but we believe the department could do more to build on the success of trials such as Project 50%.”
Project 50% was a Defra-funded trial in Devon in which technical modifications were made to the trawler fleet to help fishermen better target their desired catch. It resulted in a 50% reduction in discards.
Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon said: “The way fishing quotas are managed needs an overhaul, and I’ve proposed radical reforms to make the system simpler, giving fishermen more say and fishing communities the opportunity to support their local fleet.
“The industry needs more freedom to fish so that all fishermen have the opportunity to thrive. I’m determined to secure a sustainable, long-term future for our fishermen.”
The European Commission is seeking to reform the EU’s fishing industry by guaranteeing vessels quota shares for periods of at least 15 years. It is due to outline a proposed shake-up of the Commons Fisheries Policy next month.
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