Annex 2: Glossary of terms
Active Vessel An active vessel is a fishing vessel that is registered and licensed to
fish.
Administration Port Administration ports are responsible for issuing fishing vessel
licences. The coastal office designated as a vessel’s administration port is typically
the responsible office closest in proximity to a vessel’s operational base. A vessel’s
administration port may differ from its registration port.
Base District A base district is the collection of ports administered by a vessels
administration port office.
Cod Recovery Zone (CRZ) The Cod Recovery Zone (CRZ) is a group of sea areas
in which restrictions exist on fishing effort by vessels 10 metres or over using certain
regulated gears.
The CRZ comprises four areas:
 Kattegat
 Irish Sea (ICES division VIIa)
 North Sea (ICES division IIIa excluding Kattegat; ICES sub-area IV; EU
waters of ICES division IIa; ICES division VIId)
 West of Scotland (ICES division VIa and EU waters of ICES division Vb).
The extent of the CRZ is illustrated in the map in Annex 6.
The regulated gears are:
 Beam trawls of mesh:
- equal to or larger than 120 mm (BT1)
- equal to or larger than 80 mm and less than 120 mm (BT2)
 Gill nets, entangling nets (GN1)
 Trammel nets (GT1)
 Longlines (LL1)
 Bottom trawls and seines of mesh:
- equal to or larger than 100 mm (TR1) referred to as Whitefish Gear
- equal to or larger than 70 mm and less than 100 mm (TR2) referred to
as Nephrops Gear
- Equal to or larger than 16 mm and less than 32 mm (TR3)
Days at Sea For voyages entered into FIN the calculation of days at sea are based
on the number of 24 hour periods (or part thereof). This is consistent with the Cod
Recovery Plan requirements.
Demersal The term demersal fish covers species living on or near the sea bed.
e-Log An electronic log book. Mandatory for vessels of a length of 12m or over.
Engine Power Engine power refers to a measure of the power of a fishing vessel’s
engine (in kW). Where an engine has been permanently de-rated and this has been
declared to the Register of Shipping and Seamen(RSS), this is the de-rated engine
power; otherwise, it is the maximum continuous engine power (MCEP) declared to
the RSS. Where neither of these is available the registered engine power is used.
Entitlements Entitlements are licences which are not attached to an active fishing
vessel. A licence entitlement arises when an existing licensed vessel is sold with or
without its licence, sinks, is scrapped, or is otherwise deregistered.
Fishermen Employed A fisherman is defined as a person working at sea on a
commercial fishing vessel, classified as “Regular” or “Part Time” according to
whether commercial fishing is their main occupation or not. Crofters who gain some
part of their living from fishing are included in the tables (under “Crofters”).
Fishing Areas Fishing areas are defined by an international convention. The
immediate waters around the UK are subdivided into ICES Sub-areas; IV (North
Sea), VI (West of Scotland) and VII. VII is further divided into Western Approaches,
VIIg,h; the Irish Sea, VIIa; and the English Channel, VIId,e.
Fishing Capacity Fishing capacity is the physical dimension of fishing vessels
measured in gross tonnage (GT), see below.
Fishing Effort Fishing effort is a measure of the fishing activity of vessels based on
fishing capacity and the time spent fishing. For example, it could be expressed in
days at sea or kW days. The Scottish Government's scheme for managing fishing
effort in 2012 was called the Conservation Credits Scheme (CCS). The aim of the
scheme is to make sure that stocks of valuable whitefish stocks in Scottish waters,
particularly Cod, are able to recover to sustainable levels. The relevant regulation is
Council Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 of 18 December 2008 establishing a longterm plan for cod stock and the fisheries exploiting those stocks and repealing
Regulation (EC) No 423/2004.
Fish Producer Organisations Fish Producer Organisations (FPOs) are institutions
set up in accordance with EC regulations to improve the market for their members'
catches. FPOs may also be granted responsibility by Fisheries Administrations for
the management of fish quotas in addition to this function.
Fixed Gears Fixed gears are mainly used for demersal species. They are normally
vertically hung curtains of netting which entangle the fish, fixed to the seabed with
anchors or weights and held upright with floats.
GRT GRT (Gross Registered Tonnage) is a general term applied to a range of
volumetric measures of vessel capacity.
GT GT (Gross Tonnage) is a volumetric measurement of vessel capacity under the
rules of the ITC69 (International Tonnage Convention). By the end of 2003 all UK
fishing vessels over 15m overall length were required to have their tonnage
measured on this basis.
ICES The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) coordinates
and promotes marine research on oceanography, the marine environment, the
marine ecosystem, and on living marine resources in the North Atlantic.
Inactive Vessel For the purposes of this publication an inactive vessel is a vessel
that is registered but not licensed to fish.
Landed Weight Mass (or weight) of a product at the time of landing, regardless of
the state in which it has been landed. Landed fish may be whole, gutted, headed or
filleted.
Landing Declarations provide information on the species, weight and presentation
of landed fish. Under the EU legislation, Scottish vessels landing into the UK are
required to submit their log sheets to the authorities within 48 hours of landing for
paper or 24 hours if provided electronically. Scottish vessels landing abroad are
required to dispatch copies of their landings declaration to the vessels home port
within 48 hours or 24 hours for electronic submissions.
Live Weight The mass or weight of a product, when first removed from the water
before it is processed aboard the vessel, for example by gutting.
Logbook entries provide details on the time spent at sea including the date of
departure and return of a fishing voyage and the date of each fishing operation. All
vessels over 12m overall length are required to submit log books electronically. Log
books also detail the fishing gear used and net mesh size used for fishing
operations. The locations of fishing operations are recorded in logbooks following the
international convention to supply positional information defined by ICES statistical
rectangles. The corresponding fishing area in terms of ICES divisions is also given.
Catch information for each fishing operation include details of the species caught
and the quantity of fish retained on board. Scottish vessels landing into the UK are
required to submit their log sheets to the UK authorities within 24 hours of landing,
while those which land at foreign ports must dispatch copies of their log sheets to the
vessels administration port within 24 hours.
Main Fishing Method Main fishing method refers to the most common method of
fishing a vessel intends to use, as specified by the vessel owner on their licence
application. The actual fishing gear used by the vessel may not be the same as that
for the declared Main Fishing method.
Monkfish (Lophiidae) Monkfish are also known as Anglerfish.
Nephrops (Nephrops norvegicus) Nephrops are also knows as Norway Lobster,
Langoustine, Dublin Bay Prawns or Scampi.
Pelagic The term pelagic fish covers species found mainly in shoals in midwater or
near the surface of the sea. E.g. herring and mackerel
Quota Fish quotas are the volume of fish of different species that may be legally
landed from defined sea areas by individual EU Member States. The UK Quotas are
divided up and allocated to Fish Producer Organisations according to the number of
Fixed Quota Allocation units held by the Producer Organisation and their member
vessels.
Register of Buyers and Sellers In September 2005 a scheme of registration for
Buyers and Sellers of first sale of fish and designation of fish auction sites was
introduced by the UK Fishery Departments. This requires Sales Notes which provide
information on the quantity and value of the first sale of fish as well as details on the
grade and freshness. Sales notes should be submitted within 24 hours of sale by the
registered buyer of the fish, except at designated auction sites where the seller has
the responsibility for submitting sale notes. Registered Buyers and Sellers with an
annual turnover of €200,000 in first sale fisheries product are required to submit their
sales notes electronically. www.fishregister.gov.uk
Registration Port A registration port is a port chosen by the owner of a vessel as
the port that forms part of the external markings of a fishing vessel – the Port Letters
and Numbers painted on the bow of the vessel. The owner chooses this as part of
the process of registering a commercial fishing vessel with the Register of Shipping
and Seamen, part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. A fishing vessel’s
registration port defines its nationality but does not necessarily coincide with its
administration port and may not be located close to the vessel’s operational base.
Saithe (Pollachius virens) Saithe is also commonly referred to as Coalfish or Coley.
Seining Seining is a method used exclusively for demersal fishing. The net, lighter
than for trawling, is set on very long ropes designed to herd or contain the fish for
capture in the net. After the fish have been surrounded by the ropes, the net is slowly
hauled back to the vessel.
Shellfish The term shellfish covers all crustaceans and molluscs and cephalopods.
Total Allowable Catch (T.A.C.) Total allowable catch is the maximum permitted
amount all the EU member states can catch of a given species in a defined area.
Trawling Trawling may be used either for bottom-dwelling (demersal) or mid-water
(pelagic) species, the net being of a basic funnel-shaped construction and towed
behind a vessel or between two vessels (pair trawling).
Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) A GPS system that emits a ‘ping’ every two
hours, providing information on the location of a vessel.