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Regulations and legislation

The majority of the legislation pertinent to fisheries in English waters, and legislation pertinent to Wales are below. These are intended as aids to the industry and their legal advisors, and to ensure a compliant fishing industry in English and Welsh waters.

Amendments to technical conservation measures

Council regulations 1288/2009 and 579/2011 continued certain technical conservation measures that were established by Council Regulation (EC) 43/2009. These transitional provisions were intended to be replaced by a new technical conservation measures framework as a result of Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform. However, until this can be put in place, the European Council has recognised the need to continue these transitional measures.

Regulation (EU) No 227/2013 (PDF 1.3 MB) amends Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 to incorporate these provisions and comes into force on 23 March 2013. This amendment establishes, among other things:

  • measures to reduce discarding – a prohibition on high-grading and moving-on provisions and prohibition on slipping
  • restrictions on fishing for cod, haddock and whiting in ICES area VI
  • restrictions on fishing for cod in ICES area VII ("the Celtic Sea" or "Trevose" closures)
  • special rules for the protection of blue ling
  • measures for the redfish fishery in international waters of ICES areas I and II and in the Irminger Sea and adjacent waters
  • electric fishing in ICES divisions IVc and IVb
  • catch handling and discharge restrictions on pelagic vessels
  • technical conservation measures in the Irish Sea
  • use of gillnets in ICES divisions IIIa, IVa, Vb, VIa, VIb, VIIb, c, j, k and ICES areas VIII, IX, X and XII east of 27 degrees west
  • condition for fisheries using certain towed gears authorised in the Bay of Biscay
  • measures for the protection of vulnerable deep-sea habitats in the NEAFC Regulatory Area,  ICES divisions VIIc, j and k, and VIIIc
  • an amendment to Council Regulation (EC) No 1434/98 for a specific derogation from the conditions for landing by-catches of herring in small meshed fisheries in ICES division IIIa, area IV, division VIId and European Union waters of ICES division IIa.

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Total allowable catches 2013

The total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for 2013 were published on 21 January 2013.

Council Regulation (EU) No 39/2013 (PDF 1.5 MB) fixing for 2013 the fishing opportunities available to EU vessels for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks which are not subject to international negotiations or agreements.

Council Regulation (EU) No 40/2013 (PDF 2.5 MB) fixing for 2013 the fishing opportunities available in EU waters and, to EU vessels, in certain non-EU waters for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks which are subject to international negotiations or agreements.

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Welsh scallop order

The new Scallop Dredging Operations (Tracking Devices) (Wales) Order 2012 came into effect on 1 November 2012.

From this time it is an offence for any vessel to fish for king scallops (Pecten maximus) in Welsh waters without a tracking device fitted to the vessel that complies with the order.

If you have any enquiries about this please contact Barrie John, Senior Fishery Officer, Welsh Government, telephone 01646 696 016.

The new order should be used alongside the Scallop Fishing (Wales) (No.2) Order 2010, which regulates scallop fishing in Welsh waters.

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The Scallop Fishing (England) Order 2012

The Scallop Fishing (England) Order 2012 came into force on 1 October 2012 and applies to British fishing boats within English waters of British fishery limits.

The order revokes the Scallop Fishing Order 2004 and in particular provides the specification of scallop dredges, prohibits the use of more than 8 dredges per side within 12 nautical miles, and prohibits the carriage of scallops less than 110 mm for vessels fishing in both VIId and VIIe during a single fishing trip.

Please contact your local MMO office for further information, or see the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' website.

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New Celtic Sea selectivity measures introduced in 2012

The North Western Waters Regional Advisory Committee put forward proposals for measures to increase selectivity in bottom trawls through the use of square mesh panels in ICES areas VIIf, VIIg and part of VIIj.  The measures were designed to reduce the level of bycatch of juvenile whitefish, particularly whiting and haddock which can lead to high levels of discards. The proposals were reviewed by the European Commission, which was keen to implement measures as soon as possible.

The Commission adopted Commission Regulation 737/2012 on 15 August 2012. The Commission have set a date of 26 September 2012 for article 2 to come into force. This article covers the changes to gear.

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Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 of 8 April 2011

Laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy.

The implementing rules for Control Regulation (EC) 1224/2009 were published in the European Union Official Journal on 30 April 2011. The European Commission adopted the Implementing Rules and Annexes for the Control Regulation 1224/2009 on 8 April 2011.

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The Blue Book

The Blue Book is a consolidated version of UK and EU fisheries legislation. We try to maintain The Blue Book with up-to-date legislation but cannot guarantee that it is up to date at all times. For all EU and UK legislation please consult the following websites and documents.

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Help with documents

Some of these documents are in the portable document format (PDF) for downloading. Adobe Acrobat Reader can be freely downloaded from www.adobe.com/uk/