Today, we have published the government response to the consultation proposing amendments to Annex A of the Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS).
The consultation was launched on 10 October and closed on 21 November 2024. In the consultation, we proposed amending publication deadlines for the remaining Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) and making a few other technical changes.
We received 39 responses, reflecting views from across interested groups, which we have analysed.
You can read the summary of responses and government response to the consultation here: Joint Fisheries Statement: proposed amendments to Annex A - GOV.UK
Outcome of the consultation
Most respondents to the consultation agreed with the amendments we proposed to Annex A.
As a result, the following amendments take place with immediate effect:
- extend the deadlines for FMPs that are yet to be published,
- add species to three planned FMPs,
- amend the geographic extent of three planned FMPs to reflect the stocks covered by those plans,
- merge two cod FMPs into one,
- add a new periwinkle FMP for Northern Ireland,
- remove the Welsh Government as a joint responsible authority for preparing and publishing plans which do not extend into the Welsh zone.
We have also taken on board recommendations received to make two additional changes:
- add other hand-gathered shellfish to the periwinkle FMP and change the title of the plan to the Northern Ireland intertidal hand-gathering of shellfish FMP,
- change the titles of the whelks in Welsh waters FMP to the whelks in the Welsh zone FMP and the Welsh crabs and lobsters FMP to the crabs and lobsters in the Welsh zone FMP.
See the updated Annex A of the JFS here: Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) - GOV.UK
REMEMBER: It’s not too late to have your say – the consultations on the next five Defra-led draft FMPs are still open! Find the links here.
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