Fish - additional quota allocation 2021: consultation

1. Introduction

From 1 January 2021, the UK will be an independent Coastal State.  Negotiations with the EU and other Coastal States on fishing opportunities for 2021 are ongoing. In these negotiations the UK aims to secure Additional Quota – that is quota over and above the share which the UK received as an EU member state under the Common Fisheries Policy.  

On 13 October 2020, the UK Government issued a consultation^[1] on how any Additional Quota the UK secures in negotiations should be apportioned between the four UK Fisheries Administrations.  The Scottish Government, along with the other UK Fisheries Administrations, has been working closely with DEFRA on this consultation.  

In our Future of Fisheries Management Policy Intent Paper^[2] we set out our intention to allocate additional fishing opportunities differently to the method currently used.  The purpose of this consultation is to seek your views on how Additional Quota apportioned to Scotland should be allocated by the Scottish Government for 2021 only.

We anticipate that our approach to the allocation of any Additional Quota will change in future years, as a result of the Future of Fisheries Management work, learning through the allocation of Additional Quota in 2021 and the level of potential increases in Scotland’s apportionment of Additional Quota. Future arrangements will be the subject of a fuller consultation next year.

It is important to note that at the time of writing we do not know the additional stocks and tonnages that will be available for 2021.  Despite this uncertainty, we are using this opportunity to prepare for the allocation of Additional Quota in Scotland next year, however, as a consequence the options explored in the consultation and its duration are limited.

It is also important to note that the UK’s quota share arising from independent Coastal State status may increase in future years.  

This consultation will run from 17 December 2020 until 15 January 2021.