DEMERSAL LANDING
OBLIGATION
GENERAL GUIDANCE
December 2015
1.
Am I subject to the landing obligation?
You may be subject to the demersal landing obligation rules on 1st January 2016 if you target
certain demersal quota species. Not all demersal fish are immediately affected from this date
because the EU is gradually introducing the new rules. The landing obligation requires you to
retain all catches of a species once it becomes subject to the landing obligation, however there
some exemptions.
The species that are subject to the landing obligation depend on the sea area you fish on and
the gear you use.
We have provided separate guidance for the sea areas fished by our fishing fleet.
North Western Waters (ICES areas: VI VII and the union waters of Vb)
North Sea (ICES area: IIa and IV)
Pelagic fisheries have been subject to the Landing Obligation since 1st January 2015 and we
have produced separate pelagic landing obligation rules.
Contact your Producer Organisation (PO) or local Sea Fisheries Inspectorate Office if you are
unsure of the rules which will apply to you in 2016. They will have a list of vessels affected.
2.
Enforcement
The Sea Fisheries Inspectorate will work with POs and the wider industry to ensure
compliance.
We want to make sure that fishermen:
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understand the new rules as they come in and can easily get the right information
know the benefits of fishing selectively and avoiding unwanted catches
can benefit from opportunities such as quota uplift
If you break the demersal landing obligation rules in 2016 the Sea Fisheries Inspectorate will
take a proportionate and appropriate approach to enforcement. They will initially respond with
information and advice in recognition of the significant change the demersal landing obligation
brings.
Current methods of enforcement and surveillance (including inspections at sea) will be used to
educate and check compliance.
For enforcement purposes a list of vessels subject to the landing obligation in 2016 will be
shared with other Member States.
3.
Exemptions
You are allowed to discard a species that is subject to the landing obligation if any of the
following apply:
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fish has been damaged by predators e.g. marine mammals, predatory fish or birds
fish is damaged by disease or parasites e.g. sea lice
fish is contaminated and is unfit for human consumption e.g. fish chemically contaminated
by oil
catches are released as part of regular vessel tasks such as cleaning the gear
the fish is fish offal from the processing of fish onboard your vessel such as the gutting of
fish and tailing of Nephrops
The fishery is subject to specific exemption such as de minimis or high survivability. Check
the North Western Waters and North Sea guides to see where and to what these
exemptions apply.
Whilst allowable discards will not count against your quota, they must be recorded.
You must continue to discard:
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3.1.
prohibited species – e.g. common skate (see TAC and Quota Regulation for full list) These
must be returned to the sea as soon as possible with a minimum of injury to maximise the
chance of survival
undersize fish of species which are not subject to the landing obligation. These must be
returned to the sea as soon as possible after sorting
over quota catches of species which are not subject to the landing obligation
High-grading
You are breaking the law if you ‘high grade’ your catch. High-grading is the practice of
discarding low-value catches of any species that can be legally landed in order to preserve
your quota for higher-value fish.
The high grading ban will not apply for species subject to the landing obligation where
exemptions are permitted e.g. de-minimis exemptions.
3.2.
Catch composition rules
If your catches are subject to the landing obligation, they will be counted as target species for
the purposes of catch composition rules. All catches of that species must be landed and
counted against quota.
If your catches are not covered by the landing obligation in 2016 catch composition rules will
continue to apply. You must discard catches which exceed catch composition thresholds as
soon as possible.
4.
Undersize fish
You must land all catches of any species for which are subject to the landing obligation,
including those that are undersize. All catches of the species will count against your quota
unless an exemption applies.
As a result of the introduction of the landing obligation the term Minimum Landing Size (MLS)
has been replaced by the term Minimum Conservation Reference Size (MCRS), though the
legal sizes of fish remain the same.
You must continue to discard undersize fish of species which are not subject to the landing
obligation.
4.1.
Storage of undersize fish on board your vessel
Vessels 12m and over
You must store undersize fish separately from fish above MCRS. Undersize fish do not have to
be stored separately by individual species. Undersize fish must be stored in identifiable boxes,
compartments or containers.
Vessels under 12m
You do not have to separately store undersize catches from fish above MCRS. However if you
have a log book you are required to estimate and record undersize catches.
4.2.
Handling of undersize fish once landed
The vessel is the responsible owner for handling the undersize fish until ownership is
transferred to someone else, known as another ‘owner’.
You can’t sell undersize fish for direct human consumption. You can sell them into different
markets for:
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non-direct human consumption where the fish is processed in some way before re-entering
the human food chain (these uses include food additives and extracts of fish proteins)
non-human consumption where the fish goes to markets where it does not enter the human
food chain (these uses include fish meal, pot bait, pet food, and cosmetics)
There will not be one solution or process for handling undersize fish that will work across all
areas. Different approaches will be needed depending on the fisheries in an area or what
facilities are at port or nearby.
Ports, markets and other businesses may want to set up new processes or slightly change
existing ones e.g. processors might want to expand their existing collection networks to include
additional ports.
Find out more from Seafish about how to handle undersize fish and the markets it can be sent
to.
4.3.
Rules which apply to handling undersize fish
You must continue to follow food hygiene rules and apply them to undersize fish on board your
vessel.
By following food hygiene rules it allows for undersize fish to be sent to a wide range of uses.
When it is decided that undersize fish will go for non-human consumption Animal By-Products
(ABP) rules will apply.
You need to make sure that ABP fish is put in storage and transport that is ABP approved.
Ports, markets and other businesses may want to provide facilities for fishermen that are ABP
approved.
5.
Recording catches
If you keep a log book or e-log you must record:
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estimates of all discards above 50kg of live-weight equivalent for any species not subject to
the landing obligation
estimates of all catches of prohibited species
estimates of all permitted discards including: predator damaged, contaminated fish and
fishery specific exemptions. Permitted discards will not count against quota.
For fish above minimum size the existing rules on recording and reporting fishing activity and
sales notes still apply.
5.1.
Recording undersize fish
Where you have to complete a logbook
In addition to the existing recording requirements you must record species below MCRS as a
separate entry within log books.
The master of the vessel must log, for each fishing trip, all quantities of each species caught
and retained on board above 50kg of live-weight equivalent.
You must log two separate entries if the combined weight of both above minimum size, and
undersize fish, for one species reach 50kg live weight equivalent.
The entries must list the weight of those of above MCRS separately from the weight of
undersize fish. For example if you are obliged to land haddock and have 20kg undersize and
35kg above MCRS you must record both as a separate entry.
You must record undersize fish as juvenile within e-log systems.
Where you do not have to complete a log book
Your catches of undersize fish will be reported via the buyer and sellers sales note.
5.2.
Landing Declaration
Paper landing declarations must provide accurate weight per species, separately listing
undersize and above MCRS fish.
Electronic landing declarations have yet to be modified to allow records to be designated as
‘undersize’.
Therefore they must record the total weight per species of undersize and good size fish
combined.
5.3.
Buyers and sellers reporting requirements
You can only sell your undersize fish to a registered buyer. A sales note must be provided for
any sale or transfer of undersize fish regardless of the quantity involved. The registered buyer
or seller must provide a sales note with:
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an accurate weight of the total amount of undersize fish by species
the catching vessel details
Undersize fish can be transported unsorted by species provided they are separated from fish
above minimum size.
The electronic reporting system (ERS) for sales notes has yet to be modified to allow records
to be designated as ‘undersize’. In the meantime you must apply the most appropriate disposal
code available on the system, for example ‘non-human consumption’ or ‘bait’.
6. Further Information
Seafish website