Statutory guidance

Demersal Landing Obligation 2018

Updated 7 December 2017

North Sea and North Western Waters

1. North Sea

North Sea means ICES areas IIIa and IV, and includes Union waters of IIa for demersal fisheries.

Information for area IIIa has not been included as English vessels generally do not fish in this area.

1.1 Species covered in 2018

• Cod
• Haddock
• Hake
• Nephrops
• Northern prawn
• Plaice
• Saithe
• Sole
• Whiting

Whether you have to land a species or not will depend on the type of fishing gear you are using and the sea area you are in

Table showing a summary of landing obligation species and potential exemptions for areas IV and IIa.

For full details of the area specific exemptions, you need to read the supporting information below the table as well as the table itself.

Gear	Species which must be landed	Exemptions available
All gear types	Northern Prawn	No
Trawls & Seines, <70mm & ≥ 100mm	Cod Haddock Nephrops Plaice Saithe Sole Whiting	No
Trawls and seines 70-99mm	Cod Haddock Nephrops Saithe Sole Whiting	Undersized Nephrops can be discarded when trawling using 80-99mm mesh. Undersized cod and whiting can be discarded in area IVc by vessels who operate in the mixed fishery for sole, whiting, plaice and non-quota species. Undersized sole can be discarded from <10m vessels using 80 - 99mm mesh operating within 6nm of the coast in ICES area IVc, with a maximum engine power of 221kw, caught in depths of <30 m with a towing time less than one and a half hours. Unwanted nephrops can be discarded in the Farn Deeps, Firth of Forth and Moray Firth ‘Nephrop Functional Unit’ areas from October 1st 2018 to March 31st 2019 when using a netgrid selectivity device
Beam trawls ≥ 120mm	Cod Haddock Nephrops Plaice Saithe Sole Whiting	No
Beam trawls 80-119mm	Cod Haddock Nephrops Saithe Sole Whiting	Catches of undersized sole can be discarded when using selective trawls with increased mesh size in the extension of the beam trawl in area IV
Gill nets Trammel nets Entangling nets	Cod Haddock Nephrops Saithe Sole Whiting	Unwanted catches of sole can be discarded by vessels using trammel and gill nets
Hooks Lines	Cod Haddock Hake Nephrops Plaice Saithe Sole Whiting	No
Pots and Fyke nets	Cod Haddock Nephrops Plaice Saithe Sole Whiting	Unwanted catches of nephrops and fish can be discarded as they have a high survival rate

1.2 North Sea exemptions

For a vessel to use one of these exemptions it must meet the exemption criteria and follow the recording requirements as detailed at section 6 of the general requirements.

1.3 Survivability exemptions

You are permitted to discard fish caught in pots and fyke nets in the North Sea.

You are permitted to discard nephrops caught in pots in the North Sea. Nephrops should be discarded swiftly and returned in the area where they were caught to maximise survivability. Nephrops should only be released whole.

You are permitted to discard nephrops caught using 70-99mm trawls in the Farn Deeps, Firth of Forth and Moray Firth ‘Nephrop Functional Unit’ areas from October 1st 2018 to March 31st 2019 when using: * a mesh size of at least 80mm which is fitted with a netgrid selectivity device.

Nephrops should be discarded swiftly and returned in the area where they were caught to maximise survivability. Nephrops should only be released whole.

A ‘Netgrid selectivity device’ means a device consisting of a four panel section inserted into a two-panel trawl with an inclined sheet of diamond mesh netting with a mesh size of at least 200mm, leading to an escape hole in the top of the trawl.

North Sea Nephrop Functional Units

Name	ICES division	Statistical rectangles
Farn Deeps	IVb	38–40 E8–E9; 37 E9
Firth of Forth	IVb	40–41 E7; 41 E6
Moray Firth	IVa	44–45 E6–E7; 44 E8

You are permitted to discard undersized sole (less than 24cm) caught with trawls with a mesh size of 80 to 99mm, within 6nm of the coast in ICES area IVc (i.e. south of 53° 30’N) by vessels equal to or under 10m, with an engine power below 221kW, when fishing in waters of less than 30m depth and with tow times up to 1.5 hours. Undersized sole should be released immediately.

1.4 De minimis exemptions

Areas IV and IIa

You are permitted to discard undersize nephrops caught using bottom trawls of mesh size 80-99mm.

You are permitted to discard sole caught with trammel and gill nets.

You are permitted to discard undersized sole (less than 24cm) caught with beam trawls of mesh size 80-119mm where there is an upper and lower section of 120mm (minimum) mesh size extending for at least 3m forward of the codend (known as a Flemish panel).

You are permitted to discard undersized cod and whiting in area IVc when using 80-99mm trawls if the vessel is operating in the mixed fishery for sole, whiting, plaice and species without catch limits.

The MMO will monitor the level of discarding under these exemptions to ensure it remains within its national allowances.

If the national allowance is exceeded the exemption will be removed.

2. North Western Waters - NWW

North Western waters means ICES areas Vb, VI and VII

2.1 Species covered

The species included in the landing obligation in 2018 are:

• Haddock
• Hake
• Megrim
• Nephrops
• Plaice
• Pollack
• Saithe
• Sole
• Whiting

Whether you have to land a species or not will depend on the type of fishing gear you are using, the sea area you are in and, for the fisheries in Table 2, your fishing track record.

See the tables below to check if you are affected.

Table 1 showing landing obligation requirements for all vessels fishing in NWW using the specified gear in certain sea areas.

Area	Gear	Species which must be landed	Exemptions available
Vb, VI and VII	Gill nets Trammel nets Hooks Lines	Hake	No
VII b – k	Beam trawls Gill nets Trammel nets	Sole	Unwanted sole can be discarded when using:Beam trawls with increased selectivity in VII d - h. Gill and trammel nets in areas VII d – g
VIId	Trawls 70-99mm	Sole	Undersized sole can be discarded from <10m vessels using 80 -99mm mesh operating within 6nm of the coast in area VII d, with a maximum engine power of 221kw, caught in depths of <30 m with a towing time less than one and a half hours
VII d & e	Gill nets Trammel nets	Pollack	No

Table 2 showing landing requirements for vessels with a track record of landing certain species in NWW.

The MMO uses vessel track records from 2015 and 2016 to calculate whether you meet a catch threshold. If you were already included in the landing obligation previous years then this will continue in 2018.

If you were not previously affected by the landing obligation as a result of meeting a catch threshold (track record) but will be in 2018, you’ll be informed by the MMO before the end of 2017. Contact your regional MMO office or, if applicable, your Producer Organisation (PO) if you’re concerned as they will hold a list of vessels subject to the landing obligation.

Area	Species you have a track record of landing	Gear	Species which must be landed	Exemptions available
Vb and VI	Cod Haddock Whiting Saithe	Trawls Seines	Sole Haddock Plaice Megrim	No
Vb and VI	Nephrops	Trawls Seines Pots Traps Creels	Haddock Sole Plaice Megrim Nephrops	Unwanted catches in area VI can be discarded
Vb, VI and VII	Saithe	Trawls & Seines ≥ 100mm	Saithe	No
VII	Nephrops	Trawls Seines Pots Traps Creels	Nephrops	Unwanted catches can be discarded
Vb, VI and VII	Hake	Trawls Seines	Hake	No
VII a	Cod Haddock Whiting Saithe	Trawls Seines	Haddock	No
VII b – k	Cod Haddock Whiting Saithe	Trawls and Seines	Whiting	Unwanted whiting can be discarded in VII b – j In VII k only vessels using less than 100mm mesh can discard

2.2 North Western waters exemptions

For a vessel to use one of these exemptions it must meet the exemption criteria and follow the recording requirements as detailed at section 6 of the General Requirements.

2.3 Survivability exemptions

You are permitted to discard nephrops caught in pots in ICES areas VI and VII. Nephrops should be discarded promptly and returned in the area where they were caught to maximise survivability.

You are permitted to discard undersized sole (less than 24cm) caught with trawls with a mesh size of 80 to 99mm, within 6nm of the coast in ICES area VIId by vessels equal to or under 10m, with an engine power below 221kW, when fishing in waters of less than 30m depth and with tow times up to 1.5 hours. Undersized sole should be released immediately.

2.4 De minimis exemptions

You are permitted to discard sole caught in trammel nets or gill nets in ICES areas VIId, VIIe, VIIf and VIIg.

You are permitted to discard whiting caught in bottom trawls or seines with a mesh less than100mm in ICES areas VII b to k.

You are permitted to discard whiting caught in bottom trawls or seines with a mesh greater than 100mm in ICES area VII except when fishing in divisions VIIa and VIIk

You are permitted to discard nephrops caught by all gear types in ICES areas VI and VII.

You are permitted to discard unwanted sole caught with beam trawls of mesh size 80-119mm where there is an upper and lower section of 120mm (minimum) mesh size extending for at least 3m forward of the codend in ICES areas VIId, VIIe, VIIf, VIIg and VIIh.

The MMO will monitor the level of discarding under these exemptions to ensure it remains within its national allowances.

If the national allowance is exceeded the exemption will be removed.