Guidance

1. Guidance on completing a producer organisation application form

Updated 7 April 2021

These notes are designed to help you complete an application form for producer organisation recognition.

Throughout the form, please provide detailed responses to all questions. Failure to provide sufficient information may result in the form being returned which will delay the decision making process.

Producer Organisations (POs) must comply with articles 14 and 17 of regulation (EU) No. 1379/ 2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the common organisation of markets (the CMO regulation) in order to be recognised. Information provided across the following sections will help the MMO to identify how the PO meets these requirements.

1. Section 1 - General information

Details of the PO name and contact details should be provided under 1.1 and 1.2 respectively.

A PO must be deemed to be sufficiently economically active, and must therefore meet one of the following criteria the:

• number of vessels operated by PO members is at least 20% of the total number of vessels operating in its area
• PO lands at least 15% by weight of total production in its area
• PO lands at least 30% by weight of total production in a major port or market in its area
• PO has a minimum of 200 members that are active fishermen (the PO must provide a list of vessels and their landings data over the previous 3 years, where applicable)
• PO lands at least 5,000 tonnes of fishery products.

Information provided under:

1.3 Number of members.

1.4 List of vessels by PO member.

1.5 Landings volume by species and port will enable the MMO to determine whether the PO meets one of the above criteria.

Provide landings volume (in tonnes) by species and port for each of the last 3 years.

Provide detail of the activities carried out by the PO, including the area of activity and the fishery and aquaculture products for which recognition is sought. Information provided under 1.5 will provide the necessary details.

POs must not abuse a dominant position on a given market with respect to competition rules.

For 1.6 provide the names of persons with authority to act for and on behalf of the producer organisation.

For 1.7 confirm whether the Constitution of the Producer Organisation (PO) has been enclosed with the application.

For 1.8 list documents provided as evidence that the PO has legal personality in the United Kingdom. This should include, for example, documents establishing administrative authorisation / registration / certification by a competent authority.

For 1.9 provide evidence that the producer organisation:

• has been set up at the initiative of producers
• that membership is voluntary
• that members are free to leave

This should include proof of a democratic decision to apply for recognition (e.g. minutes or similar).

PO’s must provide the relevant details of their membership, governance and sources of funding to be recognised.

Information provided under 1.3-1.5 will provide the relevant details of membership, while evidence on governance should be provided in Section 2 Internal functioning (see below).

Applicants must provide written evidence for each PO member listed that they are committed to joining the PO, should it be recognised. This may take whatever format the applicant chooses but should include a written statement or signature from each member.

Information on sources of funding, in addition to member contributions, should be provided under 1.10. This could include for example, EMFF or other government funds to be sourced for establishment of the PO, for application of PO rules and/or implementation of measures to meet PO objectives.

2. Section 2 – Internal Functioning

PO internal functioning must be based on the following set principles:

a) Compliance by members with the rules adopted within the organisation (in terms of fisheries exploitation, production and marketing) (Question 2.1)

b) Non-discrimination among members (e.g. on grounds of nationality, place of establishment) (Question 2.2)

c) Levying of a financial contribution from its members to finance the organisation (Question 2.3)

d) Democratic functioning that enables members to scrutinise the organisation and its decisions (Question 2.4)

e) Imposition of effective, dissuasive and proportionate penalties for infringement of obligations laid down in the internal rules (Question 2.5)

f) Definition of rules on the admission of new members and the withdrawal of membership (Question 2.6);

g) Definition of accounting and budgetary rules on the management of the organisation (Question 2.7).

If the answer to a question is indicated within part of the Producer Organisation Constitution, indicate where.

Your answer to Question 2.1 should explain how the PO plans to monitor and control member activities associated with measures to be applied to meet objectives of Article 7 of the CMO regulation detailed in section 3

3. Section 3 - Measures to achieve objectives

To be recognised, POs must be capable of pursuing the objectives laid down in Article 7 of the CMO.

Pursuit of the following four objectives is mandatory:

• objective 1- Promoting sustainable fishing activities
• objective 2- Avoiding and reducing unwanted catches
• objective 3 - Contributing to the traceability of fishery products and access to clear and comprehensive information for consumers
• objective 4 - Contributing towards the elimination of IUU fishing

And at least two of the following additional objectives must also be pursued:

• objective 5 - Improving the conditions for the placing on the market of their members’ fishery and aquaculture products.
• objective 6 - Improving economic returns
• objective 7 - Stabilising the markets
• objective 8 - Contributing to food supply and promoting high food quality and safety standards, whilst contributing to employment in coastal and rural areas
• objective 9 - Reducing the environmental impact of fishing, including through measures to improve the selectivity of fishing gears

Once recognised, POs must submit an annual Production and Marketing Plan (PMP), part of which must detail how they intend to meet the above objectives through application of a number of applicable measures. POs must pursue one or more of the associated measures aimed at meeting each objective.

The format of the corresponding section of the PMP form has been adopted for this section of the Recognition application form, to reduce duplication of effort.

Therefore, for each objective to be pursued, describe how the PO will implement one or more of the appropriate measures (detailed below), proving details of what indicators will be used to measure the success of the plan and the associated anticipated timeframes.

Use the following headings to detail your plans:

• problem definition
• relevant measure/measures
• action to be taken and associated indicators to measure implementation progress
• expected results (indicators) and associated time frames

Indicators should include targets to assess implementation progress (output) and targets to assess results i.e. progress towards meeting the objectives. Refer to Annex 1 for examples of output and results indicators. Implementation targets (outputs) and results indicators will form the basis of reporting in the Annual Report.

3.1 Objective 1- Promoting sustainable fishing activities

Describe how the PO will pursue one or more of the following measures once recognised to promote sustainable fishing activities:

• collective management of fishing rights and access between members of a producer organisation, based on management rules in force for the different stocks, fisheries and fishing areas
• coordinating dialogue and cooperation with relevant scientific organisations in fisheries and cooperating in the development of scientific advice to support management decisions on fisheries resources
• preparation and management of scientific and technical campaigns aimed at improving the knowledge of resources, ecosystem impacts and the development of sustainable fishing techniques
• conducting impact studies for the application of new management measures
• identification and collective prevention of risks related to safety at work and safety at sea
• providing assistance and training to producer organisation’s members on fisheries regulation, on promotion of sustainable fishing practices or on board security
• effective participation in the different relevant bodies for fisheries management at national, regional, European and international levels
• coordinating dialogue between producer organisations, including with those from different Member States

3.2 Objective 2 – Avoiding and reducing unwanted catches

Describe how the PO will pursue one or more of the following measures once recognised to avoid or reduce unwanted catches.

• identification and promotion of fishing practices which help avoid and reduce unwanted catches
• creation and implementation of plans and collective actions for avoiding and reducing unwanted catches
• identification of the best uses of such catches
• measures to prevent a market in catches below minimum conservation reference size

3.3 Objective 3 - Contributing to the traceability of fishery products and access to clear and comprehensive information for consumers

Describe how the PO will pursue one or more of the following measures once recognised to contribute to the traceability of fishery products and access to clear and comprehensive information to consumers.

• improving techniques for traceability
• evaluating communication needs and consumer information actions
• improving product labelling
• preparing and implementing communication and consumer information actions

3.4 Objective 4 - Contributing towards the elimination of IUU fishing

Describe how the PO will pursue one or more of the following measures once recognised to contribute towards the elimination of illegal unreported and unregulated fishing.

• training for producers and education
• observation programmes and control of producer organisation members’ activity

3.5 Objective 5 - Improving the conditions for the placing on the market of their members’ fishery and aquaculture products.

If applicable describe how the PO will pursue one or more of the following measures once recognised.

• identifying outlets for marketing the production and channeling the supply of their members
• developing strategies to better market the production, including for product certification
• developing certification processes, amongst others in the fields of nutrition and quality
• supporting additional voluntary information, as per Article 39 of the CMO Regulation
• designing and developing new methods and new marketing tools
• providing assistance and training to producer organisation members on marketing techniques
• participating in trade fairs at national, European and international level to promote producer organisation members’ production

3.6 Objective 6 - Improving economic returns.

If applicable describe how the PO will pursue one or more of the following measures once recognised.

• preparing and monitoring scientific and technical campaigns aimed at reducing operating costs
• providing assistance and training to producer organisation members in fishing business management
• developing services to producer organisation members in cost accounting

3.7 Objective 7 - Stabilising the markets.

If applicable describe how the PO will pursue one or more of the following measures once recognised.

• contributing to improved market intelligence
• improving the knowledge of producer organisation members on the main economic drivers along the supply chain
• providing practical support to producers to better coordinate information sharing with customers and other actors (in particular processors, retailers and auctions)

3.8 Objective 8 - Contributing to food supply and promoting high food quality and safety standards, whilst contributing to employment in coastal and rural areas.

If applicable describe how the PO will pursue one or more of the following measures. If the PO is not pursuing a measure explain why preparing and running campaigns to:

• promote initiatives on marketing standards (quality, size or weight, packing, presentation and labelling.
• promote new species that can be sustainably exploited
• develop new processes and products
• promote fishery products
• promote employment in fishery

3.9 Objective 9 - Reducing the environmental impact of fishing, including through measures to improve the selectivity of fishing gears.

If applicable describe how the PO will pursue one or more of the following measures. If the PO is not pursuing a measure explain why.

• preparing and undertaking scientific surveys and experimental programmes to assess and limit the environmental impacts of fishing practices
• preparing and running experimental programmes to develop fishing gears reducing environmental impacts
• providing training and assistance to producers to facilitate the implementation of fishing practices and fishing gears which limit the environmental impact

4. Section 4 – Competition rules and exceptions

Article 40 of the CMO Regulation requires the agreements, decisions and established practices of the PO to be assessed against Article 101 (1) and 102 TFEU which list situations considered incompatible with the internal market.

Evidence must be provided to show that the PO’s rules, decisions and established practices comply with the competition rules of Chapter V of the CMO regulation.

However, some agreements on setting up a PO, or the internal rules governing its conduct, might involve restricting competition e.g. internal PO rules controlling production with the aim of managing fisheries exploitation.

5. Annex 1

Output and result indicators should be provided for each measure planned to allow the control of their implementation by POs and the MMO.

These indicators will also be used in the annual report in order to assess the achievement of the strategic objectives of the plans in relation to the initial situation described in the plan.

Output Indicators for the implementation of planned measures

For each measure to be implemented include output indicators where appropriate to assess conformity with:

• the scheduled vessels activity expressed, inter alia, in terms of days at sea, volumes of targeted species caught
• a provisional timetable for marketing of products by species and presentation
• a plan of scheduled actions for the identification of market opportunities
• a plan of scheduled actions for the certification/labelling of the products
• a provisional timetable for the management of fishing effort and/or capacity by fishing area
• a plan of scheduled measures for reducing unwanted by-catch
• a schedule of training in compliance and rules, awareness and control of producers

Output indicators should also highlight:

• predictive identification of the products’ sales cycles
• conformity of the average monthly income of producers with an expected level of incomes

Result indicators for assessing the contribution of the measures deployed to achieving the objectives of the production and marketing plan

For each measure, include result indicators where appropriate assessing:

• volume and/or value of the species caught, or marketed
• average size of the species caught, or marketed
• sales growth by species and/or product compared to expected position
• number and volume and/or value of new products sold compared to the previous year
• evolution of fishing effort and/or capacity
• evolution of landings composition and/or volume of unwanted catches
• evolution ‘per capita’ of the valuation of landed or harvested production
• evolution of production costs per unit of production
• evolution of cost of sales per unit of production
• evolution of the average monthly income of producers
• changes in the rate of unsold products in relation to expected position
• changes in the value of sensitive products in relation to expected position
• number of accidents (with injuries and/or fatal casualties)
• changes in the number of offences to the producer organisation rules recorded