Statutory guidance
Technical Conservation and Landing Obligation rules and regulations 2021
Guidance on the technical conservation and landing obligation (discard ban) regulations for 2021. Including how the rules apply, selling undersize fish, reporting requirements and quota management.
Documents
Details
Please note the measures and exemptions to the landing obligation rules detailed within the guidance below apply within UK waters. Any new exemptions or changes will be brought into force via secondary legislation and will be subject to Parliamentary approval.
UK vessels that intend to fish outside of UK waters, must follow the relevant exemption conditions within the Commission Delegated Regulations (EU), 2020/2014 and 2020/2015 specifying details of implementation of the landing obligation for certain demersal fisheries. Please refer to the exemption guidance notice ‘2021 Outside UK waters – All gears’ which summarises each exemption.
Exemptions within UK waters
New Exemption in force from 1st Jan until the end of 2021
“In fisheries by vessels using bottom trawls (OTB, OTT, TB, TBN) of mesh size 80-99mm in the United Kingdom waters of ICES subarea 4 and ICES Division 2a: a quantity of Norway lobster below the minimum conservation reference size, which shall not exceed 2% of the total annual catches of that species.”
| Discard Plan | Type | Species | ICES area (UK waters) | Gear | Mesh Size | Relevant Segment |
| NS | De minimis | Nephrops | 2a and 4 | Bottom trawls (OTB, OTT, TB, TBN) | 80-99mm | TR2 |
The de minimis exemption effectively replaces the high survivability time-limited exemption for North Sea Nephrops. The high survivability exemption that was for North Sea Nephrops has not been extended due to lack of supporting scientific data.
Continued Exemptions:
Where shown, MCRS is minimum conservation reference size.
| Exemption | Discard Plan | Exemption type | Species | ICES area (UK waters) | Gear types | Mesh size | Relevant segment | |
| Survivability exemption for Norway lobster | NWW | High survivability | Nephrops | 6 and 7 | All pots, traps, creels | All mesh sizes | All fleets | |
| Survivability exemption for Norway lobster | NWW | High survivability | Nephrops | 7 | All bottom trawls | ≥100mm | TR1 | |
| Survivability exemption for Norway lobster | NWW | High survivability | Nephrops | 7 | All bottom trawls | 70-99mm | TR2 | |
| Survivability exemption for Norway lobster | NWW | High survivability | Nephrops | 6a | Otter Trawls only | 80-110mm | All fleets | |
| Survivability exemption for common sole | NWW | High survivability | Sole | 7d (within 6nm) | Otter Trawls, TBN and TBS | 80-99mm | TR2 | |
| Survivability exemption for skates and rays | NWW | High survivability | Skates and Rays | 6 and 7 | All gear types | All mesh sizes | All fleets | |
| Survivability exemption for plaice | NWW | High survivability | Plaice | 7d-7g | Trammels | All mesh sizes | Trammels | |
| Survivability exemption for plaice | NWW | High survivability | Plaice | 7d-7g | Otter trawls | All mesh sizes | TR1-3 | |
| Survivability exemption for plaice | NWW | High survivability | Plaice | 7a-7k | BT2 beam trawls with flip up or benthic release 80-119mm | BT2 | ||
| Survivability exemption for plaice | NWW | High survivability | Plaice | 7a-7k | BT2 beam trawls within 12 nm and tow <90 mins | 80-119mm | BT2 | |
| Survivability exemption for plaice | NWW | High survivability | Plaice | 7d | Danish Seines | All mesh sizes | All fleets | |
| Survivability exemption for species caught in pots, traps and creels | NWW | High survivability | All Species | 5(excluding 5a and only including 5b) 6 and 7 | Pots, traps and creels | N/A | N/A | |
| For whiting, up to a maximum of 5% of the total annual catches of that species by vessels using bottom trawls and seines with a mesh size equal to or greater than 80mm, pelagic trawls and beam trawls with a mesh size of 80-119mm | NWW | De minimis | Whiting | 7b-k | Bottom trawls and seines and BT2 beam trawls | Trawls ≥80mm Beams 80-119 mm | TR1, TR2, BT 2 | |
| For common sole, up to a maximum of 3 per cent of the total annual catches of that species by vessels using trammel and gill nets to catch common sole | NWW | De minimis | Sole 7d-7g | Trammels and Gill nets | All mesh sizes | All trammels and GN | ||
| For common sole, up to a maximum of 3% of the total annual catches of that species by vessels using TBB gear with a mesh size of 80-119mm equipped with Flemish panel, to catch common sole… | NWW | De minimis Sole | 7d,e,f, g | Beam trawls plus Flemish panel | 80-199mm | BT 2 | ||
| For haddock, up to a maximum of 5% in 2020 of the total annual catches of that species by vessels using bottom trawls, seines and beam trawls, with a mesh size greater than or equal to 80mm | NWW | De minimis | Haddock | 7b, 7c and 7e- 7k | Bottom trawls and seines and beam trawls | ≥80mm | TR 1, TR2, BT1, BT2 | |
| For horse mackerel, up a maximum of 7% in 2020 of the total annual by-catches of those species, caught in demersal mixed fisheries, by vessels using bottom trawls, seines and beam trawls… | NWW | De minimis | Horse Mackerel | 6 and 7b-k | Bottom trawls and seines and beam trawls | All mesh sizes | All fleets | |
| For mackerel, up to a maximum of 7% in 2020 of the total annual by-catches of that species, caught in demersal mixed fisheries, by vessels using bottom trawls, seines and beam trawls… | NWW | De minimis | Mackerel | 6 and 7b-k | Bottom trawls and seines and beam trawls | All mesh sizes | All fleets | |
| For common sole, up to a maximum of 3% in 2020 of the total annual catches of that species by vessels using beam trawls with a mesh size of 80 – 119mm (BT2) with increased selectivity | NWW | De minimis | Sole | 7a,j,k | Beam trawls plus Flemish panel | 80-199mm | BT 2 | |
| For megrim below MCRS, up to a maximum of 5% in 2020 of the total annual catches of those species by vessels using bottom trawls with a mesh size of 70-99mm and beam trawls with a mesh size of 80-119mm | NWW | De minimis | Megrim | 7 | Bottom trawls and beam trawls | 70-99 mm (TR2) and 80-199 mm (BT2) | TR2 and BT2 | |
| For boarfish, up to a maximum of 0.5% in 2020 of the total annual catches of that species by vessels using bottom trawls NWW De minimis Boarfish 7b,c and 7f-k Bottom trawls All mesh sizes All fleets | ||||||||
| For greater silver smelt, up to 0.6% in 2020 of the total annual catches of that species by vessels using bottom trawls with a mesh size equal to or greater than 100mm (TR1) | NWW | De minimis | Greater Silver Smelt | 5b and 6 | Bottom trawls | ≥100mm | TR1 | |
| For haddock below MCRS, up to a maximum of 3%in 2020, of the total annual catches of that species by vessels using bottom trawls with a mesh size up to 119mm in the West of Scotland Norway lobster fishery | NWW | De minimis | Haddock | 6a | Bottom trawls | <120mm | TR 1, TR2 | |
| In the demersal mixed fishery carried out by vessels targeting brown shrimp and using beam trawls with a mesh size equal to or greater than 31mm | NWW | De minimis | Brown Shrimp | 7a | Beam trawls | ≥31mm | TBB | |
| Survivability exemption for common sole | NS | High survivability | Sole | 4c (<6nm of coast, outside nursery areas) | Otter trawls | 80-99mm | TR2 | |
| Survivability exemption for by-catch of all species subject to catch limits in pots and fyke nets | NS | High survivability | All Species | 4 | Pots and fyke nets | N/A | FPO, FYK | |
| Survivability exemption for catch and by-catch of plaice. (From January, the current exemption for plaice in article 6(1)(c) and 6(2)(b) of the 2020 version of the NS delegated act will have expired. They will be replaced by: ‘plaice caught with trawls (OTB, PTB) with a mesh size of at least 80mm targeting flatfish or roundfish in the United Kingdom waters of ICES subarea 4’. | NS | High survivability | Plaice | 4 | OTB, PTB trawls | ≥80mm | TR1 and TR2 | |
| (Same as high survivability above) | NS | High survivability | Plaice | 4 | Danish Seines | All mesh sizes | SDN | |
| Survivability exemption for plaice below the minimum conservation reference size | NS | High survivability Plaice | 2a and 4 | BT2 beam trawls with flip up or benthic release | 80-119 mm | BT2 | ||
| Survivability exemption for plaice below the minimum conservation reference size | NS | High survivability Plaice | 2a and 4 | BT2 beam trawls within 12 nm and tow <90 mins | 80-119 mm | BT2 | ||
| Survivability exemption for turbot | NS | High survivability | Turbot | 4 | Beam trawls | >80mm | BT1 and BT2 | |
| Survivability exemption for skates and rays | NS | High survivability | Skates and Rays | 2a and 4 | All gear types | All mesh sizes | All fleets | |
| De minimis exemption for sole | NS | De minimis | Sole 2a and 4 | Trammels and Gill nets | All mesh sizes | Trammels and Gill nets | ||
| De minimis exemption for sole | NS | De minimis | Sole 4 | Beam trawls with Flemish Panel | 80-119 mm | BT2 | ||
| De minimis exemption for whiting and cod | NS | De minimis | whiting and cod<MCRS | 4c | Trawls and seines | OTB, OTT, SDN, SSC 70-99mm | TR2 | |
| De minimis exemption for whiting and cod | NS | De minimis | whiting and cod <MCRS | 4a and b Trawls and seines | OTB, OTT, SDN, SSC 70-99mm | TR2 | ||
| De minimis exemption for undersized whiting | NS | De minimis | Whiting <MCRS | 4 | Beam trawls | 80-119mm | BT2 | |
| De minimis exemption for undersized plaice | NS | De minimis | Plaice <MCRS | 4 | Nephrops trawls | 80-99mm with SEPNEP | TR2 with SepNep | |
| De minimis exemption for brown shrimp | NS | De minimis | All Species | 4b and 4c | Brown shrimp | beam trawls | All mesh sizes | BT1 and BT2 |
| De minimis exemption for horse mackerel | NS | De minimis | horse mackerel | 4 | Bottom trawls (OTB, OTT, PTB, TBB) | 80-99mm | TR2 | |
| De minimis exemption for mackerel | NS | De minimis | mackerel | 4 | Bottom trawls (OTB, OTT, PTB, TBB) | 80-99mm | TR3 | |
| De minimis exemption for sprat, sandeel, norway pout and blue whiting | NS | De minimis | combined sprat, sandeel, norway pout and blue whiting | 4 | Trawls and seines (OTB OTM OTT PTB PTM SDN SPR SSC TB TBN) | >80mm (Northern Prawn fishery + also selectivity devices) | TR1 and TR2 | |
| De minimis for ling | NS | De minimis | Ling <MCRS | 4 | Long lines | LLS | LLS |
Updates to this page
Published 6 January 2021Last updated 21 July 2021 + show all updates
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North Sea update
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PDF update
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First published.