Fisheries: Proposed removal of the quota finfish licence cap on English 10 metre and under vessels

Just under a quarter of English registered 10 metre and under (u10m) vessels are subject to a limit, or cap, of 350kg on the amount of finfish quota species they can fish per annum. The cap was introduced to help manage the utilisation of quota available to this section of the fleet who fish for quota species from the u10m quota pool. In recent years the level of quota in the pool has increased, partly as a result of Brexit, with the pool not being fully utilised. Licence capping is cited as a barrier preventing u10m vessels fully utilising the pool with capped licence holders requesting that the cap be permanently removed. By removing the cap this would give u10m vessels more of the certainty they need to invest in the new gear necessary to catch more or different stocks. In response to requests from industry the cap has been lifted temporarily in the last 3 years without issue. It was temporarily lifted again on 1 March 2023 for the remainder of th