Citation, commencement and extent

regulation 1 + 1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Sea Fisheries (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2024 and come into force on 16th December 2024.

(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures

regulation 2 + 2.—(1) Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures is amended as follows.

(2) In Article 6 (definitions)—

regulation 2 2 a + (a)for the full stop at the end of point (55), substitute a semicolon;

regulation 2 2 b + (b)after point (55), insert—

“(56) ‘flyseining gear’ means an encircling and towed gear, operated from a boat by means of two long ropes (seine ropes) designed to herd the fish towards the opening of the seine. The gear is made up of a net which is similar in design to a bottom trawl. This definition includes the use of Danish seines and Scottish seines.”.

(3) In Part A of Annex 5 (minimum conservation reference sizes), in the table, for the entry relating to Crawfish, in the second column after “(carapace length)” insert “(in the English zone only a minimum conservation reference size of 110 mm shall apply)”.

(4) In Part A of Annex 6 (minimum conservation reference sizes), in the table—

regulation 2 4 a + (a)in the top row, in the second column after “Whole area” insert “(unless otherwise specified)”;

regulation 2 4 b + (b)for the entry relating to Crawfish, in the second column after “95 mm” insert “(in the English zone only a minimum conservation reference size of 110 mm shall apply)”;

regulation 2 4 c + (c)at the end, insert the following rows—

(5) In Part B of Annex 6 (mesh sizes), at the end of the table following point 1.2(ii), insert the following row—

(6) In Part C of Annex 6 (closed or restricted areas), after point 9.2 insert—

“10.   Restrictions on the engine power of vessels using flyseining gear within 12 nautical miles of the coast of the United Kingdom in ICES divisions 7d and 7e

Vessels are prohibited from using flyseining gear within 12 nautical miles of the coast of the United Kingdom in ICES divisions 7d and 7e, measured from the baselines from which the territorial waters are measured, unless the engine power(5) of the vessels does not exceed 221 kW.”.

(7) In Part A of Annex 7 (minimum conservation reference sizes), in the table, for the entry relating to Crawfish, in the second column for “95” substitute “110”.

Council Regulation (EU) 2020/123 fixing for 2020 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Union waters and, for Union fishing vessels, in certain non-Union waters

regulation 3 + 3.—(1) Council Regulation (EU) 2020/123 fixing for 2020 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Union waters and, for Union fishing vessels, in certain non-Union waters(6) is amended as follows.

(2) In Article 10 (measures on European seabass fisheries)—

regulation 3 2 a + (a)in paragraph 2, in the words before sub-paragraph (a), after “caught in that area” insert “subject to the catch limits set out in licence conditions by a fisheries administration,”;

regulation 3 2 b + (b)in paragraph 2(a), omit the words from “not” to the end;

regulation 3 2 c + (c)in paragraph 2(b), omit the words from “not” to the end;

regulation 3 2 d + (d)in paragraph 2(c), omit the words from “not” to the end;

regulation 3 2 e + (e)in paragraph 2(d), omit the words from “not” to the end;

regulation 3 2 f + (f)in paragraph 3, for “set out” substitute “in licence conditions referred to”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make amendments to assimilated law in the field of sea fisheries.

Regulation 2 makes minor amendments to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures (EUR 2019/1241). It introduces a minimum conservation reference size for lemon sole, turbot and brill in ICES divisions 7d and 7e and increases it for crawfish in English waters.

Regulation 2 also introduces a minimum mesh size requirement for flyseining gear in the English waters of ICES divisions 7d and 7e. The engine power of vessels using flyseining gear within 12 nautical miles of the English coast in those ICES divisions is additionally limited to 221 kW.

Regulation 3 amends Council Regulation (EU) 2020/123, by removing seabass catch limits for United Kingdom registered fishing vessels from Council Regulation (EU) 2020/123. It is intended that catch limits will be managed through vessel licence conditions.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary sector or community bodies is foreseen.