Leasing extra quota
You can apply to lease extra quota from a producer organisation (PO), to supplement your catch limits or to keep fishing a stock where the 10-metres-and-under or non-sector pool allocation has been used.
Leasing extra quota
You can apply to lease extra quota from a producer organisation (PO), to supplement your catch limits or to keep fishing a stock where the 10-metres-and-under or non-sector pool allocation has been used.
Step 1
Contact the MMO fisheries management team to find out if the extra quota you need can be made available by an increase in the catch limit for the stock in question. Telephone 0300 123 1032 or email: quotaswap.dqs@marinemanagement.org.uk
Step 2
If the MMO is unable to meet your requested catch limit increase, contact a PO directly to agree a lease.
Step 3
The PO that you are leasing quota must complete a Domestic Quota Swap Form that includes your: * vessel’s name * Registry of Shipping and Seamen (RSS) number * port letters and numbers (PLN) * name and contact details * amount of quota requested for lease
The PO must submit the form to quotaswap.dqs@marinemanagement.org.uk A group application must detail the proportion of the leased quota for each vessel. If quota allocations for the year have not yet been confirmed it is still possible to lease quota from a PO. The PO should submit a leasing request to the MMO via email providing the information detailed in Step 3 above.
Once quota allocations have been issued the MMO will then create a Domestic Quota Swap Form detailing the lease and send it to the PO for sign off.
Step 4
MMO considers applications to lease quota on a case-by-case basis. MMO checks the licence and vessel details and considers the catch limits, amount of stock being leased and the overall UK uptake position for the stock. MMO take up to 10 days to process the application.
Step 5
If the application is approved, MMO will send:
- an approved form back to the donor PO
- a permit letter confirming leased quota details to you naming the boat it applies to – the letter becomes part of your vessel’s fishing vessel licence and will be sent to you by email or post if no email address is available (an example letter is below)
- a copy of the leasing letter to the vessel’s administration port
Leasing scheme letter
Step 6
You can start fishing against the leased quota as soon as you receive the leasing letter either by email or post. You must comply with the leasing scheme requirements. Scheme requirements
You must be the owner of a vessel that is:
- 10-metres-or-under or non-sector
- fishing against the English pool allocation for any stocks
- fishing in English waters in the current year
Quota can be leased by individuals or a group:
- in year only
- for a minimum of 100kg
- in multiples of 100kg
- only for the purpose of fishing against the leased quota
Unused leased quota will be carried forward into the next month and the licence holder will be permitted to fish the leased in quota, in addition to the monthly catch limit.
This applies from the date of the letter until such time as:
- the additional leased-in quota is exhausted
- the fishery is closed at UK level
- the fishery is closed by the 31 December
If you do not fish the quota by 31 December, the MMO may use unused quota to benefit the whole fishing industry including under 10 and non-sector pools or to swap with other countries.
Unfished leased quota may be returned to the producer organisation from which it was leased (if the producer organisation agrees) up to the year end, but not beyond 31 December. You may not:
- fish against leased quota if the fishery is subject to a UK closure (all Fish Producer Organisations and non sector licences).
- transfer leased quota except by agreeing to return it to the PO it came from
- use leased quota to increase FQA units
The master/owner of an over 10 metre (m) vessel shall maintain and submit a logbook for all stocks retained on board or discarded and a landing declaration for each landing. Please contact your nearest MMO office for more information.
The logbook shall be completed for every fishing trip during the period the licence holder has leased fish and not just those fishing trips where leased fish is targeted or caught. Logbooks must be completed for the entire period where fish is leased until the end of the month in which leased fish is taken in full.
Vessels master/owners of under 10m vessels are required to submit a paper logbook to record their catches whilst leasing quota, as per the instruction in the paragraph above. However, if the vessel is required to submit a catch record using the MMO’s record-your-catch service, all catches must be submitted via the record-your-catch web site, record-your-catch app or with the support of the MMO’s record-your-catch contact centre. If the record-your-catch service is used the completion of a paper logbook is not required. More information is available at Record your catch
Your catch is counted against the pool allocation first and your leased quota once the pool allocation is used. For example, if a monthly pool catch limit for a stock is 1 tonne and you lease in an extra 2 tonnes, your first tonne of a 2-tonne catch will be recorded against the pool and the second tonne against your leased quota.
You must make sure your vessel does not exceed the total quota available to you. If you catch more than your limit, you may be prosecuted.
Last updated 7 May 2021 + show all updates
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Updated Leasing Scheme Letter
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First published.