Pelagic landing obligation 2018
Updated 7 December 2017
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pelagic-landing-obligation-2018-guidance/pelagic-landing-obligation-2018
1. Vessels covered by the pelagic landing obligation
If you use pelagic gear to target quota species then the pelagic landing obligation applies.
If you use pelagic gear to target non quota species the landing obligation does not apply.
If you use demersal gear you should check the demersal landing obligation guidance
2. The Pelagic Landing Obligation 2018 covers these fisheries
| Small Pelagic | Large Pelagic | Industrial |
|---|---|---|
| Mackerel | Bluefin tuna*4 | Capelin*1 |
| Herring | Swordfish | Sandeel*3 |
| Horse mackerel | Albacore tuna | Norwegian pout*3 |
| Blue whiting | Bigeye tuna | |
| Boarfish | Blue marlin | |
| Anchovy*1 | White marlin | |
| Argentine (greater silver smelt) | ||
| Pilchard*1 | ||
| Sprat*2 |
*1 Anchovy, pilchards and capelin are not subject to quota limits in North Western Waters (ICES areas Vb, VI and VII) or the North Sea (ICES area IIIa and IV).
*2 Sprats are only subject to quota in the North Sea (ICES Area IV) and in ICES Areas VIId and VIIe within North Western Waters.
*3 Sandeels and Norwegian pout are only subject to quota in the North Sea (ICES area IIIa and IV).
*4 Bluefin tuna is a prohibited species for UK fishing vessels and if caught as a by-catch must be returned to the sea, alive and unharmed to the greatest extent possible.
If you are not sure if the species you are catching is subject to quota in the area you are fishing full details of current quota species can be found in the 2017 TAC and quota regulations.
Information for area IIIa has not been included as English vessels generally do not fish in this area.
3. Species which must be landed
- all pelagic quota species caught during pelagic operations targeting pelagic quota species
- catches of demersal quota species caught during operations for pelagic quota species
4. Survivability exemption for ICES areas IV and VI purse seine fisheries
There is a landing obligation exemption for herring and mackerel in areas IV and VI purse seine fisheries.
The following conditions apply, the:
- the purse seine gear must be fitted visible buoys clearly marking the limit for point of retrieval
- the vessel and the purse seine gear must be equipped with an electronic recording and documenting system which records when, where and the extent to which the purse seine has been hauled for all fishing operations
- the catch must be released before a certain percentage of the purse seine is closed or the point of retrieval:
- the point of retrieval is 80% closed for mackerel and 90% closed for herring
- for schools which are a mixture of both mackerel and herring the point of retrieval is 80%
- after the point of retrieval it is prohibited to release the catch of herring and mackerel
- the surrounded school of fish must be sampled before release to estimate the species composition, fish size composition and the quantity
- quantities of fish released and results of the sampling must be reported in the logbook
5. De minimis exemptions for North Western Waters
The following exemptions apply:
- industrial pelagic trawlers targeting blue whiting in areas Vb, VI and VII and then processing it for surimi base can discard a maximum of 6% in 2018 of total annual catches
- vessels targeting albacore tuna using midwater pair trawls (PTM) in area VII can discard a maximum of 6% of total allowable catch in 2018 of albacore tuna
- pelagic trawlers up to 25 meters in length using mid-water trawls (OTM and PTM) to target mackerel, horse mackerel or herring in area VIId can discard a maximum of 1% of the total annual catches of mackerel, horse mackerel, herring and whiting.
6. De minimis exemptions for North Sea
- Vessels up to 25m using mid-water trawls (OTM/PTM) operating in areas IVb and IVc South of 54 degrees North can discard up to a maximum of 1% of the total annual catch of mackerel, horse mackerel, herring and whiting.
7. Fish below Minimum conservation reference sizes (MCRS)
Catches of all quota species (including by-catch species) below the MCRS must be retained onboard, landed and counted against quota.
Non quota species below MCRS must be discarded
Quota species which have been retained and are below the MCRS have to be stored separately from those over the MCRS.
7.1 Exemption from separate storage of fish below MCRS for pelagic vessels
Undersize quota species do not have to be stored separately from fish above MCRS where:
- catches contain more than 80% of one or more small pelagic or industrial species (as listed at section 2)
- fishing vessels are of less than 12 metres length where catches below MCRS have been sorted, estimated and recorded
7.2 Pelagic vessels exemption for selling quota species below MCRS for human consumption
Fish below MCRS cannot normally be sold for direct human consumption, however up to 10% of a total pelagic catch can be comprised of undersize fish and sold for human consumption. This applies to sardines, anchovies, herring, mackerel and horse mackerel.
8. Further information
European Commission’s information on the pelagic landing obligation.