Guide to the MFA A5 v3
18/4/07
10:00
Page 1
3-8 Whitehall Place London, SW1A 2HH www.mfa.gov.uk info@mfa.gsi.gov.uk
Guide to the Marine and Fisheries Agency
PB 11904
Guide to the MFA A5 v3
18/4/07
10:00
Page 3
Marine and Fisheries Agency
The Marine and Fisheries Agency is an Executive Agency of Defra. The Agency provides the service delivery, inspection and enforcement activities provided by the Government to the fishing industry, those engaged on construction works and dredging at sea and other marine stakeholders in England and Wales. The Agency’s vision is to be : A trusted manager of sea fisheries and the marine environment recognised for our fairness and valued for our professionalism, expertise and high standards. This is to be achieved through five key objectives: • to be a key partner in the management of marine fisheries; • to enforce regulations professionally, consistently and fairly; • to contribute to the sustainable use of the marine environment; • to provide specialist information to inform the development of policy and its effective implementation; • to promote an open, diverse and fair culture in which staff are encouraged to reach their full potential. The Agency has a wide range of responsibilities and undertakes delivery functions for Defra in the following areas: • Fishing vessel licensing and economic links; • Management of UK fleet capacity; • Enforcement of sea fisheries legislation and implementation of EU marketing regime; • Management of UK fisheries quotas; • Biological sampling of fish and shellfish;
1
• Fishing industry grants and UK state aids; • Data Collection Regulation (EC) 1543/2000; • Management, recording and provision of data on fishing activities and catches; • Licensing of marine consents for construction, dredging and disposal • Licensing of marine aggregates dredging; • Monitoring, control and enforcement of marine construction sites in accordance with the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985; • Monitoring, control and enforcement of the Offshore Marine Conservation Regulations for implementing the EU Habitats and Wildbirds Directive; • Major oil spills and pollution incidents at sea – approval of treatment products and coordination of environmental aspects of emergency response; • Approval of oil treatment products for use on maritime oil spills and their specific use in shallow and coastal waters. In England and Wales, the Agency has overall responsibility for the enforcement of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and its associated regulations. English and Welsh waters within British Fishery Limits cover approximately 60,000 square miles and extend up to 200 miles from the coast, or to the median line with other Member States’ waters, where the distance between the countries is less than 200 miles. The people in the Agency have a wide range of skills and backgrounds including, marine and fisheries science, the fishing industry, Royal Navy, Merchant Navy, hydrography, administration and statistics. The Agency’s Inspectors receive comprehensive professional training and are appointed to act as British Sea Fishery Officers (BSFOs). They operate in accordance with principles laid down in a Charter Document and Code of Enforcement which can be obtained in hard copy form from MFA offices or viewed on the Marine and Fisheries Agency website at www.mfa.gov.uk. As BSFOs, they are legally
2
Guide to the MFA A5 v3
18/4/07
10:00
Page 5
empowered to enforce the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy and its associated regulations, as well as national marine and sea fisheries regulations. The Agency employs around 190 people in offices located in London and 20 port offices around the coast at the principal fishing ports in England and Wales. The Agency’s port offices are divided between two regions covering England and Wales and they comprise seven fisheries districts, as illustrated on the attached map. The main duties of the Marine and Fisheries Agency are summarised below. 1. Enforcement of EU and UK sea fisheries regulations The Agency co-ordinates an enforcement programme for monitoring, control and surveillance of all sea fishing activity within British Fishery Limits off the coast of England and Wales and UK vessels operating outside those waters. When breaches of the regulations are identified the Agency investigates and takes appropriate enforcement action including prosecution. This enforcement work is crucial to ensuring high compliance with fisheries regulations so that fish stocks are exploited in a sustainable way to assist the long term economic survival of the fishing industry and to protect a valuable natural food resource. The enforcement programme includes the inspection of fishing vessels at sea and in port, inspections of fishing industry premises, fish markets and other locations around the coast and further inland by BSFOs. Inspections at sea are carried out by the Royal Navy’s Fishery Protection Squadron (RN FPS) operating under an agreement with the Agency. There is also a programme of aerial surveillance conducted under contract by Directflight Ltd. To support the monitoring, control and surveillance operations the Agency operates a satellite based Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) from a Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) in its London Headquarters.
The VMS is used to track the positions of fishing vessels exceeding 15 metres in length. The sort of fisheries measures that are enforced include the following: • access rules for foreign fishing vessels in British Fishery Limits; • Total Allowable Catches and quotas for fish stocks; • technical conservation measures for juvenile and spawning fish, such as minimum fish sizes, mesh sizes for nets and closed areas; • special stock recovery measures for ‘at risk’ fish stocks; • control measures for monitoring and inspecting fishing vessels and their catches, such as fishing logbooks and landing declarations; • effort limitation measures limiting the days vessels may fish. 2. Collection and recording of data on fishing activity and catches Information on catches and fishing activity is collected and recorded by the Agency from such sources as fish markets, fishing logbooks, landing declarations and sales notes. This information is used by fisheries scientists at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), by policy makers and administrators involved with quota management and conservation measures and forms the basis for meeting the UK’s reporting obligations under EU legislation and other international agreements. 3. Biological sampling of catches The Agency undertakes an annual programme of sampling to measure fish and shellfish catches at markets, merchant’s premises and other locations. This information is sent to CEFAS to assist work on fish stock assessments. Length samples are measured and ear stones (otoliths) are removed from some fish so that scientists can determine the age of the fish.
3
4
Guide to the MFA A5 v3
18/4/07
10:00
Page 7
Marine and Fisheries Agency District Offices
5
6
Guide to the MFA A5 v3
18/4/07
10:00
Page 9
4. EU marketing regulations The Agency monitors and enforces EU regulations concerning the organisation of the market in fishery products. This involves carrying out fish grading checks at markets in relation to EC size and freshness ratings at the first point of sale. It also involves market intervention work for the Rural Payments Agency in relation to fish that may be withdrawn from the human consumption market after failing to reach an agreed minimum price. 5. Marine environment, pollution response, fisheries interference The Agency licenses a number of activities in the marine environment on behalf of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and in certain areas for Wales for the Welsh Assembly Government: • the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA) for English and Welsh waters requires a licence to be obtained to deposit any articles or substances in the sea or under the seabed (below mean high water springs). The aim of the Act is to protect the marine ecosystem, human health and minimise interference and nuisance to other users of the sea. Licences granted include specific conditions designed to minimise any negative impacts;
the impact of such activity upon the marine environment is negligible. Licence conditions are imposed to mitigate any potential effects of dredging and the impact of dredging is regularly monitored to ensure it remains acceptable; • the Offshore Marine Conservation Regulations will be introduced to extend the protection of important marine species and habitats under the Birds and Habitat Directives beyond UK territorial waters. It will require licences to be issued for certain marine activities which would otherwise be an offence under the new regulations. The breadth of activities licensed by the Agency is vast, ranging from the construction of a small jetty to an entire offshore wind farm. The Agency is committed to helping the government achieve its aim of 10% of UK electricity production from renewable sources by 2010 and 20% by 2020. The offshore renewable projects contribute greatly to these targets. They require consent under FEPA, CPA and the Electricity Act, with the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) having responsibility for the latter. In some circumstances we do not issue a licence but still advise on the environmental impact of marine activities. For example, we work with the Department for Transport on Transport and Works Act applications to assess the environmental impact of proposed transport works that are built in the marine environment. The Agency provides a 24 hour response service to major oil spills and pollution incidents at sea. The Agency is responsible for issuing approval for the use of dispersants in shallow or coastal waters within an hour of notification. It also has a role in coordinating the environmental aspects of a major marine incident and licensing the use of oil dispersants under FEPA. The aim is to try to minimise the impact of any pollution and ensure public health is protected and the impact on wildlife and fisheries is reduced as much as possible.
• the Coast Protection Act 1949 (CPA) requires a consent to be obtained for any construction or alteration of works lying on or below the seashore, below the mean high water springs CPA also covers the removal of material below mean low water springs. The aim is to ensure that any danger of collision or obstruction in marine waters is kept to a minimum; • the Environmental Impact Assessment and Natural Habitats (Extraction of Minerals by Marine Dredging) (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2007 require a license for dredging of aggregates from the marine environment. The aim is to ensure that
7
8
Guide to the MFA A5 v3
18/4/07
10:00
Page 11
6. UK fishing vessel licensing and economic links The Agency oversees the administration of a national restrictive licensing scheme for UK commercial fishing vessels which is designed to control the capacity and fishing activities of the UK fleet. This is intended to bring catching effort into better balance with fishing opportunities. A key element of this important work is advising fishermen about procedures for licensing a registered fishing vessel, any capacity penalties that may have to be paid when transferring and aggregating licences, how to make changes to an existing licence and derating engine power. For vessels over 10 metre in length, the licence holder must ensure that there is a real economic link between the vessel to which this licence relates and the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man. 7. Decommissioning and fishing industry grant aid schemes The Agency administers any national fishing vessel decommissioning schemes which may be introduced to reduce the capacity of the English fishing fleet. 8. Advisory role and general liaison with the fishing industry A very important area of the Agency’s work concerns regular liaison with the fishing industry, the provision of advice and seeking feedback on matters of interest to the industry. In addition, the Agency advises Defra on problems and issues affecting the industry. Staff at the port offices deal with the fishing industry on a daily basis and are well placed to fulfil this advisory task. The Agency maintains a close working relationship with the industry, balancing their enforcement duties with the other areas of their work.
9. Management of UK Fisheries quotas The Agency helps to facilitate the UK fishing industry in achieving the maximum uptake of fishing quotas by monitoring the level of uptake and ensuring that UK quotas are not exceeded. This is done by regularly monitoring and reporting on quota uptake and providing statistical information and analysis to Defra. The Agency allocates (and reallocates where necessary) fishing opportunities on a transparent basis agreed between UK fishing administrations. Where appropriate the Agency also seeks to secure international swaps of quota to the benefit of the UK industry and Government. 10. Fishing Industry grants and UK state aids The Agency develops and operates a grants and state aid regime which supports and encourages sustainability and profitability and meets EU and Government standards of financial propriety and accountability. 11. Management, recording and provision of data on fishing activities and catches The Agency is responsible for the management, analysis and reporting of UK fisheries data to meet UK, EU and international reporting obligations and to support the development of fisheries policies. 12. Further information Further information about the Marine and Fisheries Agency and its work can be found on the Marine and Fisheries Agency website at www.mfa.gov.uk. Copies of the Agency’s Charter Document can be obtained from from the website or from any of the Marine and Fisheries Agency offices. Alternatively copies may be obtained from Defra Publications, Admail 6000, LONDON, SW1A 2XX (tel.08459-556000). Marine and Fisheries Agency April 2007
9
10