MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Landing obligation exemption changes in English waters

The Sea Fisheries (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2025 no.92 were laid before parliament at the end of January and will come in to force on February 28 2025.

The changes mean that from the end of February a number of exemptions to the Landing Obligation will be removed so fishers will be legally required to land the species that these exemptions covered. All other exemptions remain in place.

The changes have been made following a review of Landing Obligations exemptions by experts at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture (Cefas) and a public consultation.

Four exemptions are set to be disapplied, three fully and one partially.

The details are:

• The high survivability exemption for turbot caught in English waters of ICES subarea 4 with beam trawls with a cod-end larger than 80mm will be disapplied. This is due to insufficient evidence to support this exemption. The exemption remains in place within Scottish waters of ICES subarea 4.
• The de minimis exemption for mackerel, horse mackerel, herring and whiting caught in the pelagic fishery carried out by pelagic trawlers up to 25 metres in length overall, using mid-water trawls, and targeting mackerel, horse mackerel and herring in ICES divisions 4b and 4c south of 54 degrees north will be disapplied. This is due to insufficient evidence to support this exemption.
• The de minimis exemption for mackerel, horse mackerel, herring and whiting caught in the fishery carried out with pelagic trawlers up to 25 meters in length overall, using mid-water trawls, and targeting mackerel, horse mackerel and herring in ICES division 7d will be disapplied. This is due to insufficient evidence to support this exemption. 
• The cod element of a de minimis exemption for cod and whiting below the minimum conservation reference size caught in the mixed demersal fisheries by vessels using bottom trawls or seines with a mesh size of 70-99 mm in ICES division 4c will be disapplied. This is due to concerns about the Northern shelf cod stock, in particular in the Southern North Sea, and insufficient evidence to support this exemption. It provides a consistent approach across ICES subarea 4. The whiting element of this exemption will be retained.

Under the Landing Obligation, all fish caught must be landed and not discarded if there is no exemption in place.

For more information, see Technical Conservation and Landing Obligation rules and regulations 2025 – GOV.UK  or read general landing obligation collection page.