Press release

Government launches call for evidence on allocating additional fishing quota in England

Government seeking views on who should benefit from additional quota.

Fishing boats

Fishing Boats, Cornwall, England.

The government has today (Friday 19 July) launched a call for evidence to shape how we allocate additional fishing quota in England after we leave the EU and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

After we take back control of our waters, we will negotiate for fairer shares of fishing quota. The government has committed to allocating any quota returned to the UK on a different basis and to working with stakeholders to develop this new approach.

This call for evidence is an important step in fulfilling that commitment, helping us achieve our ambition of a more competitive, profitable and sustainable fishing industry and of setting a gold standard for sustainable fishing around the world.

Fisheries Minister Robert Goodwill said:

As the UK becomes an independent coastal state outside the EU and the CFP, we are committed to creating a new system for allocating additional quota which works for our fishermen and the seas they rely on.

This call for evidence is an important milestone in that process and gives everyone with a stake in our waters the chance to shape how we go about allocating additional fishing quota in a way that will help ensure a thriving and sustainable fishing industry for generations to come.

In developing this new approach, the government is seeking views on the values and processes which underpin good quota management. This will help inform who should benefit from this additional quota and how it should be distributed.

For example, the call for evidence will look at whether England could learn from allocation models in other parts of the world, how allocation could help tackle choke risk and how a new approach could best support coastal communities and ensure a sustainable industry.

The call for evidence will run for six weeks.

The deadline for responses is 30 August 2019.

Published 19 July 2019