Fishing quota - additional allocation from 2024: equality impact assessment

Stage 4: Decision making and monitoring

Identifying and establishing any required mitigating action

Have positive or negative impacts been identified for any of the equality groups?

We assess that there is a slight positive effect relating to age in that some barriers to entry to fishing have been reduced, which we expect to be of principal benefit to younger people.

Is the policy directly or indirectly discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010?

No

If the policy is indirectly discriminatory, how is it justified under the relevant legislation?

Not applicable

If not justified, what mitigating action will be undertaken?

Not applicable

Describing how Equality Impact analysis has shaped the policy making process

The allocation of additional quota is one element of fisheries management at large in Scotland. The Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement set out that allocation must be made using transparent and objective criteria and these must include environmental, social and economic factors. The allocation method leads to some minor positive impacts by broadening access to fishing opportunities and, through the findings of this EQIA, we expect this to benefit younger people working in the fishing industry more than those who are older and more established. This is a consequence of efforts to enhance the opportunities available to the 10 metre and under non-sector group of vessels, and to strengthen the link between receiving AQ and being an active fishing vessel, drawing economic benefit from fishing received quota and not from trading it.

This assessment has identified well established imbalances in opportunity within the fishing industry in Scotland. It remains a male dominated industry at all levels, and certain fleet segments make use of foreign crews who do not enjoy the same earning potential as UK crew and owners. There are remaining knowledge gaps around disability, religious belief, sexual orientation and gender identity. Filling these may lead to future adjustment to allocation policy in consideration of how social benefit relating to these characteristics could be realised.

Monitoring and Review

In this section, explain how you will monitor and evaluate this policy to measure progress on equality issues identified in the EQIA. Include information on when the monitoring and evaluation will take place, and who is responsible for undertaking it. This should be part of the regular monitoring and evaluation mechanisms you devise for your policy.

The proportion of quota allocated via the different mechanisms may vary from year-to-year. Some methods for the distribution of AQ arising from this consultation and subsequent work may not commence until after 2024. Gains from transfers of quota to the UK from other Coastal States which arise from negotiations may be allocated differently to the AQ gained because of the change in the UK share of quotas arising from the next negotiated Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the UK and EU, in 2026. We anticipate that our approach to the allocation of any AQ will change in future years, this is due to a number of factors such as the development and implementation of our Future Catching Policy. Therefore, the distribution methodology for AQ may be reviewed and amended before 2026, and certaintly after 2026. Related to the allocation of sea fish quotas is the operation of sectoral and non-sector groups in Scotland. The Scottish Government will be reviewing these groups as part of the Future Fisheries Strategy.