Consultation on the proposed Southern North Sea Demersal Non-Quota Species Fisheries Management Plan

The purpose of this consultation is to seek your views on the proposed Southern North Sea demersal non-quota species Fisheries Management Plan (FMP), its policies and proposed actions and measures. We are also seeking your views on the likely environmental effects of the Southern North Sea demersal non-quota species FMP, as set out in the environmental report. 13 demersal NQS were prioritised for an FMP due to their vulnerability to over-exploitation, the economic value of the fisheries and a lack of evidence to properly assess and monitor the state of the stocks. The English Southern North Sea demersal NQS FMP covers the following 13 species within International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) areas 4b and 4c: bony fish (john dory, red mullet, grey gurnard, red gurnard and tub gurnard); elasmobranchs (lesser spotted dogfish and starry smoothhound); cephalopods (common cu