Get a fishing vessel licence: 10 metres or under
How to apply for a commercial fishing licence for vessels 10 metres and under
You may also be interested in Get a fishing vessel licence: over 10 metres
Overview
Fishing anywhere by a British fishing boat is prohibited unless authorised by a licence, unless you’re exempt. If you fish without a licence or don’t comply with your licence conditions, you may be prosecuted. All owners are jointly liable for any offences committed by the vessel.
To protect fish stocks no new licences are created and there are a limited number of licences in circulation. The only way you can get a licence is by transferring an existing one to your vessel. You need a licence entitlement to do this.
Exemptions
You don’t need a licence for your vessel if any of the following apply:
- it doesn’t have an engine
- it will only be used to fish for common eels, salmon or migratory trout – you do need a rod licence
- you fish only within the 12 nautical mile limits around Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man – you may need a licence from the suitable authority
- you only use your vessel to fish for pleasure
Register your vessel
You must register your vessel on the UK Ship Registry to get a fishing vessel licence, unless your vessel is registered in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
For more information contact the:
Get a licence entitlement
You can get an entitlement by obtaining:
- the entitlement from a vessel that has sunk, been scrapped or is no longer being used for fishing
- a licence currently on a vessel
You need to make sure the entitlement(s) is:
- the correct licence category for your fishing requirements. See licences and permits
- suitable for a vessel 10 metres and under
- suitable for any shellfish requirement (if applicable). See licences and permits
- the correct tonnage of your vessel and
- the correct engine power (kilowattage) of your vessel
If required, you can aggregate two or more entitlements to cover your vessel. You can also split an entitlement via an ‘Application to Disaggregate a Fishing Vessel Licence Entitlement (AFL19) form Commercial fishing vessel licence application forms if you have surplus KW or tonnage.
Aggregation and disaggregation rules:
Only licences of the same type and category may be aggregated together. Where this is not possible, the licence issued to the incoming vessel will be downgraded to take the lowest common level of authorisation of all the donor licence entitlements.
On disaggregation any shellfish permits associated with the licence, will be permitted to be allocated to be used, in one transaction only, either collectively or singly (nominated in section B of the AFL19 form). However, other components of the disaggregated licence, not allocated with the permit will retain a track record and may be aggregated with base licences which do carry the permit, without the resultant licence losing that authority (aggregations involving components without a shellfish permit or track record would result in the loss of the permit).
Aggregation restrictions and engine power Limits
Licence entitlements from vessels under 8 metres may not be used in an aggregation to licence a vessel between 8 and 10 metres. A single licence transfer from an under 8 metre vessel to placed on an 8 to 10 metre vessel however, is permitted, subject to the dimensions of the entitlement being suitable for the larger vessel.
There are engine power limits for vessels of 10m and under which are licensed by aggregation. They stand at:
- 150 kw limit on aggregations onto vessels between 8 and 10 metres
- 100 kw limit on aggregations onto vessels under 8 metres
Single licence transfer over these limits will continue to be permitted unless the entitlements to be used have been created through aggregation outside of English administration after 24 February 2015.
Becoming the holder of a licence entitlement
Complete sections A and B of an ‘Establishment or Transfer of an Entitlement and Transfer of Licence’ application form (AFL7) Commercial fishing vessel licence application forms and send it to your local Marine Management Organisation (MMO) office.
The MMO will check the previous owner has agreed to the transfer. If all the documentation is in order the licence entitlement will be established in your name and you will receive the completed Section D ‘Notification of Entitlement’ of the AFL7 form.
You should note that a completed Section D of the AFL7 form is NOT a valid fishing vessel licence.
Apply for your licence
Complete an ‘Application for a Fishing Licence for a British Registered Vessel’ (AFL2) following the ‘Explanatory Notes and Conditions’ (AFL1) guidance to apply for a licence and send it to your local MMO office with your certificate of registry for the vessel
You may need to demonstrate an economic link between the vessel and the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man to make landings at certain ports within designated times. For more information, please contact your local MMO office.
Your vessel licence covers the UK EEZ. If you want access to non-UK waters, you should contact the UK Single Issuing Authority (UKSIA)
Moves in and out of England
Category and permit changes
Entitlements transferring back to England with a previous track record of having been Category A 10m and Under Limited licence (often referred to as capped. See licence types ) will revert to being a limited/capped licence. This rule also applies to aggregations.
As part of the 2016 licence-capping scheme in England, shellfish permits have been suspended from licences with a track record of under 1kg of shellfish as defined for the purpose of the licence in each calendar year between 2010 and 2013. The status of the suspended permits is subject to a Defra review. Licences with suspended permits on transfer out of England will be transferred without the permit. Entitlements transferring back to England with a previously suspended shellfish permit, will revert to being suspended.
FQA moratorium
There is a current embargo on the trading of FQA units to and from Scotland and the rest of the UK. Therefore FQA units will need to be removed from a licence entitlement before the entitlement can move to or from Marine Scotland.
The ban on the movement of FQA units from Scotland to the rest of the UK has been in place since January 2014. The embargo on units transferring from the rest of the UK to Scotland has been in place since December 2016
Request to change UK fisheries administration
Any vessel wishing to change administration within the UK should submit an application to change UK fisheries administration , before a transaction proceeds, to its current administration for consideration.
The reasons for requesting a change of the country of administration should take into account the Concordat criteria that fishing vessels will, in general, be administered from the territory that they predominantly fish out of.
The completed form should be submitted to their current administrative office, who will then then forward it to fishingvessellicensing@marinemanagement.org.uk for consideration to either be added or released from the English Administration. The form must be completed by the vessel owner(s) who wish to request the change of administration between England to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Bass Authorisations.
If you want to catch and retain bass by gears other than demersal trawls and seines, you must have a written authorisation from the MMO to do so. Authorisations are being issued to vessels with a track record of landing bass during the reference period of 1 July 2015 to 30 September 2016.
Once you have been issued an authorisation you will be permitted to catch and retain bass with the gear types listed on your authorisation, subject to the specific limitations for each gear.
A Bass authorisation does not transfer ownership with a licence entitlement. The authority remains with the vessel. If you are replacing a vessel that has a bass authorisation, a transfer of authorisation will be considered but is subject to strict rules. It is the responsibility of any vessel owner to seek relevant approvals from the MMO prior to making a commitment to purchase a new fishing vessel, where they are wanting to transfer any existing authorisation.
Full details of the current Bass Fishing Guidance can be found at the following webpage: Bass Fishing Guidance 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and queries relating to a Bass authorisation or transfer of an authorisation should be directed to bass@marinemanagement.org.uk
Contact information
For further information on domestic fishing vessel licensing rules please contact the Fisheries Management Team.
MMO Helpline: 0300 123 1032