This page provides information on the development of national Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs). It will be updated with developments in the plan and can signpost you to relevant information, any stakeholder events, or consultations in relation to these plans.
Current Consultations
The consultations for the first draft of all six Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 FMPs closed on 1st October 2023. Plans should be finalised based on the consultation responses and published in December 2023. More information can be found here.
What are Fisheries Management Plans?
FMPs are national ‘action plans’ for the management of individual fisheries and will be developed collaboratively with the fishing industry and other stakeholders. The plans could change management measures in your fisheries and so it is important to stay up to date and, where possible give your views to feed into the development of the plans as part of the process. All upcoming stakeholder engagement events, consultations, and any other relevant information will be posted on this page.
The need for FMPs came from the Fisheries Act 2020 which provides the framework to manage our fisheries as an independent coastal state outside of the EU Common Fisheries Policy. The act requires the UK fisheries policy authorities (Defra, and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) to publish fisheries management plans (FMPs) to help deliver our ambition for sustainable fisheries. The Joint Fisheries Statement lists the 43 proposed FMPs.
Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 Fisheries Management Plans
The Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 FMPs (or front-runner FMPs) are currently in development. Defra ran a 10-week consultation on drafts of these plans which closed on 1st October 2023. While Defra are leading on the development of the plans, each plan has a delivery partner who work with Defra and all relevant stakeholders to draft the FMP.
Please see below a list of the current plans in development and links to further information:
Tranche 3 Fisheries Management Plans
Development has started on Tranche 3 FMPs. They include:
- Cockles
- Queen Scallop
- North Sea and Channel Sprat
- Southern North Sea demersal non-quota species
- Southern North Sea and Channel Skates and Rays
Click here for more information on the species in each of the plans and the delivery partners for each plan.