Inshore fisheries policy

Fisheries Management Plans

The Fisheries Act 2020 provides a framework for fisheries management for the United Kingdom and sets out the objectives that fisheries administrations in the United Kingdom should aim to achieve when developing fisheries policies.

These objectives are:

• the sustainability objective,
• the precautionary objective,
• the ecosystem objective,
• the scientific evidence objective,
• the bycatch objective,
• the equal access objective,
• the national benefit objective, and
• the climate change objective.

The Fisheries Act 2020 committed the UK fisheries administrations to publish a Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). The JFS was published in November 2022 and included a list of 43 fisheries management plans (FMPs), the prime focus of which is to achieve the long-term, sustainable harvesting of fish stocks in UK waters.

DAERA has responsibility for the preparation and publication of three FMPs.

• The Irish Sea Pelagic FMP – DAERA is the coordinating authority working with joint authorities (i) the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (England) and (ii) the Welsh Government. This FMP includes herring.

• Irish Sea Demersal FMP – DAERA is the coordinating authority working with joint authorities (i) the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (England) and (ii) the Welsh Government. This FMP includes plaice, cod, haddock, sole, whiting, and nephrops.

• Northern Ireland Inshore FMP – DAERA is the sole authority. This FMP includes edible (brown) crab, velvet crab, lobster, king scallop and queen scallop.

Strategic Environmental Assessments

DAERA has determined that a Strategic Environmental Assessment is required for the Northern Ireland Inshore FMP. As part of this process an SEA Scoping Report was prepared for consideration by the statutory consultation body.

The purpose of this SEA Scoping Report is to provide the context for, and determine the scope of, the SEA and to set out the framework for undertaking the later stages of the SEA. 

The scoping stage of SEA involves reviewing other relevant plans, policies and programmes, considering the current state of the environment, and identifying any key environmental problems which may be affected by the FMP. It sets out the ‘SEA framework’, which comprises specific environmental objectives against which the likely effects of the fishery management plan can be assessed.

The SEA scoping report can be viewed below.

For further information fmps@daera-ni.gov.uk