The Sea Fisheries (Remote Electronic Monitoring and Regulation of Scallop Fishing) (Scotland) Regulations 2024

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations place new requirements on scallop and pelagic fishing boats in respect of remote electronic monitoring systems (“REM systems”) and amend and partially revoke the Regulation of Scallop Fishing (Scotland) Order 2017.

Part 2 of these Regulations makes provision for REM system requirements for scallop fishing boats and Part 3 for pelagic fishing boats. The provisions apply to fishing trips in the Scottish zone and, for Scottish fishing boats, to fishing trips wherever they are undertaken.

The Part 2 provisions for scallop fishing boats include—

• requirements to have an REM system installed and fully functional throughout the duration of a fishing trip (regulation 5);

• powers for the Scottish Ministers to specify the technical specifications for REM systems and to grant exemptions from any specified requirement concerning automatic transmission of video recording data (regulation 6);

• duties to retain REM data recorded in relation to a fishing trip for 1 year and make that data available to the Scottish Ministers on request during that period, as well as a power for the Scottish Ministers to grant exemptions from those duties (regulation 7);

• requirements to submit and update information and for a remote inspection and system test trip following the first installation or the replacement of an REM system (regulation 8);

• requirements where an REM system fails or malfunctions before the start of or during a fishing trip (regulation 9);

• requirements where a winch sensor forming part of an REM system fails or malfunctions (regulation 10);

• prohibitions on tampering or interfering with REM systems (regulation 11); and

• offences, penalties and provision for the jurisdiction for trying those offences (regulation 12).

Part 3 makes broadly equivalent provision for pelagic fishing boats, however, the following content is specific to Part 3—

• provision is made for a 6 month transitional period to come into force on 7 September 2025, before the rest of Part 3 comes into force on 7 March 2026 (regulations 1(2)(c) and (d) and 14). By the end of this transitional period and before the rest of Part 3 comes into force, a number of requirements in relation to pelagic boats must be met, including that an REM system has been installed, specified information has been submitted to the Scottish Ministers, and that a remote inspection and system test trip have been carried out;

• a power is conferred on the Scottish Ministers to request that data recorded by an REM system in relation to a fishing trip is securely transmitted to a data storage system to which they have access within 72 hours of the time the request is received (regulation 18); and

• provision is made for requirements where an REM system fails or malfunctions before the start of or during a fishing trip, however, no separate provision is made in relation to winch sensor failures or malfunctions (regulation 20).

The terms defined at section 52 of the Fisheries Act 2020 (c. 22) apply to Parts 1 to 3 of these Regulations. For the purpose of enforcing Parts 2 and 3 of these Regulations, by virtue of section 35 of the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2013 (asp 7), a British sea-fishery officer has the powers conferred by sections 36 and 39 of that Act and by Part 7 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 5). By virtue of section 25 of the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2007 (asp 12), where a fixed penalty officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person has committed an offence under regulation 12 or regulation 22, the officer may issue that person with a fixed penalty notice.

Regulation 23 amends the Regulation of Scallop Fishing (Scotland) Order 2017 (“the Order”) which relates to fishing for king scallops in the Scottish zone and landing king scallops in Scotland. Article 5 of the Order is being revoked as the provisions of the current articles 4 and 5 of the Order are being consolidated into a new version of article 4 which is being substituted into the Order.

In addition to this consolidation, three substantive amendments are made to the rules governing fishing for king scallops in the Scottish zone. These rules are now set out in article 4 of the Order, as amended.

Firstly, restrictions on the maximum number of scallop dredges which can be deployed by a fishing boat for the purpose of fishing for king scallops (8 scallop dredges from each of the port and starboard sides of the fishing boat and 16 scallop dredges in total) which previously only applied in Scottish inshore waters are extended so that these restrictions will also apply to fishing for king scallops in any other part of the territorial sea of the United Kingdom adjacent to Scotland.

Secondly, a fishing boat deploying scallop dredges for that purpose in any part of the territorial sea of the United Kingdom adjacent to Scotland must not deploy at any time any tow bar with a total length exceeding 7.5 metres or more than 2 tow bars.

Thirdly, an exemption is introduced which would, if and so long as a fishing boat complies with the two conditions to qualify for it, exempt a fishing boat from the restrictions on the use of tow bars and on the maximum number of scallop dredges which can be deployed for the purpose of fishing for king scallops in any part of the territorial sea of the United Kingdom adjacent to Scotland, other than in Scottish inshore waters.

To comply with the first condition, a fishing boat must have an historic track record of having undertaken at least one fishing trip at any time during the period from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020 (inclusive of both dates) to fish for king scallops in any part of the territorial sea of the United Kingdom adjacent to Scotland, other than in Scottish inshore waters, during which it deployed either 9 or 10 scallop dredges from each of its port and starboard sides while a remote electronic monitoring system which complied with the requirements of Article 6(4) of the Order (as they applied during that period) was installed on board.

To comply with the second condition, the fishing boat, while fishing for king scallops in any part of the territorial sea of the United Kingdom adjacent to Scotland, other than in Scottish inshore waters, must not deploy at any time more than 10 scallop dredges from each of its port and starboard sides or more than 20 scallop dredges in total.

Regulation 23(4) revokes article 6 of the Order, which is superseded by the provision made in Part 2 of these Regulations.

A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared in relation to these Regulations and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. A copy of this can be obtained from Marine Directorate, the Scottish Government, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ.