Guidance
Quota application mechanism: apply for 2026 English quota
Use the quota application mechanism (QAM) to apply for English fishing quota.
Applies to England
To apply for fishing quota, you must either be:
- a producer organisation (PO) that is submitting an application on behalf of your members (multi-PO applications will be rejected) and contain only vessels registered in England with a commercial fishing licence
- an English non-sectoral over-10-metre vessel - this includes over 10 metre Crown Dependency vessels - you can also submit a joint application with other non-sectoral over-10-metre vessels
You must also:
- make sure no master or owner in your application has been found guilty of any fisheries offences in the last 3 years which resulted in an official written warning (OWW), financial administrative penalty (FAP) or finding of guilt by a court
- agree to only catch and land the quota - trading the allocation will not be permitted
- agree to be contacted and share information and scheme-relevant data
Before you apply
You’ll need to provide:
- your contact details
- the stock you’re applying for
- the minimum and maximum viable tonnage
- details of the vessels you’ll use to catch the quota such as the registration number and name of the master or owner
- details and evidence of the gears and modifications you’ll use
- details of the monitoring systems you’ll use
- details of the social and economic benefits you’ll bring to coastal communities
- the percentage of stock you’ll land in UK or Crown Dependency ports
Apply online
Defra must receive your application before 11:59pm on 31 October 2025.
Other ways to apply
You can also apply by email or post.
Gears and modifications
When you apply, we will ask what gears and modifications you will use when fishing your quota.
Gears have been grouped and ranked by their selectivity and impact on the seabed.
You will get more points for using gears and modifications which have a higher selectivity and lower impact on the seabed.
Hardline rod and reel
Your options are:
- Minimum legal requirement (10 points)
Pots and traps
Your options are:
- Minimum legal requirement (8 points)
- Escape holes or ropeless (10 points)
Longlines
Your options are:
- Minimum legal requirement (6 points)
- Proven bycatch reduction hook design or bycatch reduction device (10 points)
Nets (driftnet, gillnets)
Your options are:
- Minimum legal requirement (6 points)
- Modified design (for example hanging of net) to reduce unwanted catches or increased mesh size (8 points)
- Increase mesh size with bycatch reduction devices (10 points)
Seine trawls (fly shooter, Danish or Scottish seine)
Your options are:
- Minimum legal requirement (6 points)
- Increase in mesh size (+10%) above the legal requirement (8 points)
- Substantially larger (+25%) mesh escape panels or sections, or expansive square mesh escape panels, or square mesh codend (10 points)
Pelagic nets (seines and trawls)
Your options are:
- Minimum legal requirement (6 points)
- Proven bycatch reduction devices or net modifications (for example escape panels) to minimise unwanted catches (8 points)
- Proven bycatch reduction devices and net modifications (escape panels) to minimise unwanted catches (10 points)
Beam trawl TR1+ (100+mm)
Your options are:
- Minimum legal requirement (3 points)
- Increase in mesh size (+10%) above the legal requirement (6 points)
- Substantially larger (+25%) mesh escape panels or sections, or expansive square mesh escape panels, or square mesh codend, or sumwing (8 points)
- Substantially larger (+25%) mesh escape panels or sections, or expansive square mesh escape panels, or square mesh codend with sumwing and low impact alternative to tickler chains or chain mat (10 points)
Demersal trawl TR1+ (100+mm)
Your options are:
- Minimum legal requirement (3 points)
- Increase in mesh size (+10%) above the legal requirement (6 points)
- Semi-pelagic doors with substantially larger (+25%) mesh escape panels or sections, or expansive square mesh escape panels, or square mesh codend, or raised fishing line, or large mesh size in the belly (300+mm) (8 points)
- Semi-pelagic doors combined with reduced seabed contact ground gear and substantially larger (+25%) mesh escape panels or sections, or expansive square mesh escape panels, or square mesh codend, or raised fishing line or large mesh size in the belly (300+mm) (10 points)
Beam trawl TR2 (70mm to 99mm)
Your options are:
- Minimum legal requirement (1 point)
- Increase in mesh size (+10%) above the legal requirement (3 points)
- Substantially larger (+25%) mesh escape panels or sections, or expansive square mesh escape panels, or square mesh codend, or sumwing (6 points)
- Substantially larger (+25%) mesh escape panels or sections, or expansive square mesh escape panels, or square mesh codend with sumwing (8 points)
- Substantially larger (+25%) mesh escape panels or sections, or expansive square mesh escape panels, or square mesh codend with sumwing and low impact alternative to tickler chains or chain mat (10 points)
Demersal trawl TR2 (70mm to 99mm)
Your options are:
- Minimum legal requirement (1 point)
- Increase in mesh size (+10%)above the legal requirement (3 points)
- Substantially larger (+25%) mesh escape panels or sections, or expansive square mesh escape panels, or square mesh codend, or dual codend with larger mesh upper codend, or net grids (6 points)
- Semi-pelagic doors combined with reduced seabed contact ground gear, or selection grid (rigid or flexible) with substantially larger (+25%) mesh escape panels or sections, or expansive square mesh escape panels, or square mesh codend (8 points)
- Semi-pelagic doors combined with reduced seabed contact ground gear and selection grid (rigid or flexible) with substantially larger (+25%) mesh escape panels or sections, or expansive square mesh escape panels, or square mesh codend (10 points)
Dredges
Your options are:
- Minimum legal requirement (1 point)
- Dredge design with lower impact metal frames and chain mesh bags or lower impact metal teeth (3 points)
- Dredge design with lower impact metal frames and chain mesh bags and modified lower impact metal teeth (6 points)
- Novel selective dredge design with proven minimal bottom contact (8 points)
- Alternative selective method for harvesting scallops without towed gear and minimal bottom impact (10 points)
2025 English additional quota (AQ) and 2026 ICES headline advice
The total available tonnages of the stocks listed are not yet known. This table provides English 2025 additional quota (AQ) tonnages for each stock (taken from Fishing quota allocations for England and the UK) and ICES advice for 2026 as reference.
The 2026 AQ figures are provisional and are subject to change. No decisions have made on total allowable catch (TAC) or quota transfers for 2026. ICES headline advice is included to indicate stock status and help with planning.
| Stock name and code | English additional quota tonnage for 2025 | ICES 2026 headline advice - % change compared to 2025 | Potential additional quota tonnage for 2026 following ICES advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anglerfish 7 (ANF/07.) |
1,985.0 | -3% | 1,925 |
| Anglerfish North Sea (ANF/2AC4-C) |
150.5 | -5% | 143 |
| Anglerfish West of Scotland (ANF/56-14) |
194.4 | -5% | 185 |
| Cod North Sea (COD/2A3AX4) |
335.2 | -100% | - |
| Herring North Sea (HER/4AB.) |
4,262.5 | -27% | 3,112 |
| Herring Southern North Sea and Eastern Channel (HER/4CXB7D) |
1,196.5 | -27% | 873 |
| Hake North Sea (HKE/2AC4-C) |
229.5 | -6% | 216 |
| Hake Western (HKE/571214) |
315.3 | -6% | 296 |
| Mackerel Western (MAC/2CX14-) |
5,255.5 | -70% | 1,577 |
| Nephrops 7 (NEP/07.) |
60.2 | Not available at time of launch | |
| Saithe North Sea (POK/2C3A4) |
1,161.7 | -24% | 883 |
| Sole North Sea (SOL/24-C.) |
1,150.4 | 25% | 1,438 |
| Skates and rays Western (SRX/67AKXD) |
288.1 | Not available at time of launch | |
| Blue whiting Northern (WHB/1X14) |
304.3 | -41% | 180 |
Get help
For help using this service email quota@defra.gov.uk
Updates to this page
Published 6 October 2025
Last updated 14 October 2025
show all updates
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Added Sole North Sea to the 2025 English additional quota (AQ) and 2026 ICES headline advice table.
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Updated the email and post application form to make it clearer that you can only apply for one stock at a time, and to add additional quota tonnages and ICES advice for 2026.
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First published.