Allocation of fishing quotas and consideration of voyage permits as a suitability criterion for issuing fishing licenses

The Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) granted leave to appeal for fundamental legal significance and referred the case to the Third Senate for a full review on the merits. The dispute concerns the allocation of fishing quotas and the exercise of discretion when issuing fishing permits under the Maritime Fisheries Act, specifically challenging whether a producer organization participating in small-scale high-sea fisheries can require authorities to consider, among other suitability criteria, whether competing applicants possess the necessary voyage permits. The decisive legal basis is § 132 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 VwGO, which mandates leave to appeal if a question of fundamental legal significance arises, here defining whether permit issuance must factor into the assessment of an applicant's performance capacity and suitability the availability of required voyage permits among other bidders.