Seafish Fleet Survey

From July to September 2019, our fleet researchers will visit over 400 ports to talk to skippers and vessel owners as part of our annual fleet survey.

The Fleet Survey is the major piece of research into the health of the UK's fishing sector, both in terms of the economic performance of the fleet itself but also the social impact it has on coastal communities. The results of the survey help both industry and policy makers to understand the challenges and opportunities the fleet faces as well as the impact of fisheries management measures.

But creating an accurate picture depends on the support and participation from skippers and vessel owners. With the UK's exit from the EU among the changes on the horizon it has arguably never been more important that the fleet survey can show the most complete picture of the catching sector as possible.

How to take part
It should take no more than 15 minutes for skippers and owners to take part in the survey.

Our researchers will ask a series of questions about the financial and operational performance of the fishing vessel, with all answers and any other information provided treated in the strictest confidence.

No figures relating to any individual or specific vessel are revealed in the fleet report or any other outputs.

Benchmarking reports for vessel owners
Owners who take part can request a free financial performance benchmark report. This provides an indication of how well their vessel is performing compared to similar vessels. This can help to inform business and financial decisions.

Industry support
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) have recently asked skippers and owners to take part with Barrie Deas, NFFO chairman, saying:

“I would encourage every skipper and vessel owner to assist Seafish by taking part in the UK fleet survey. By sparing the small amount of time required to take part, you will be helping to create the most accurate picture possible of the UK fishing fleet, across boats of all sizes and the entire country.”

Our researchers
Our fleet researchers are Ross Blakemore, Joe Cooper, Juan Carlos Paredes Esclapez and Oscar Wilkie.

Schedule
The fleet survey schedule can be subject to change, but in the coming weeks our researchers plan to visit ports in the following areas.

Week commencing Monday 19 August

• South West Highlands (Port Appin, Salen, Ardnamurchan, Kilchoan, Glenuig, Arisaig, Mallaig, Fort William)
• Northumberland and Tyne and Wear (Holy Island, Seahouses, Beadnell, Craster, Amble, Blyth, North Shields, South Shields, Sunderland)
• Merseyside and North Wales (Liverpool, Hoylake, Connahs Quay, Bagillt, Mostyn, Rhyl, Penrhyn, Conwy, Bangor, Menai Bridge, Beaumaris, Amlwch, Holyhead, Rhoscolyn, Aberffraw)
• Essex (Clacton, Brightlingsea, Wivenhoe, Colchester, West Mersea, Maldon, Burnham-On-Crouch, Rochford, Southend)

Week commencing Monday 26 August

• Mid West Highlands (Kyle of Lochalsh, Applecross, Shieldaig, Gairloch, Gruinard – Aultbea, Little Loch Broom, Badluarach)
• Moray (Cromarty, Avoch, Burghead, Hopeman, Lossiemouth, Buckie, Findochty, Portknockie)
• North Aberdeenshire (Portsoy, Whitehills, Banff, Macduff, Gardenstown, Rosehearty, Sandhaven and Pitullie, Fraserburgh, Cairnbulg, Inverallochy)
• North Argyll & Bute and Isle of Mull (Luing, Cuan, Balvicar, Oban, Tobermory, Ulva Ferry, Bunessan, Fionnphort, Lochbuie, Coll, Tiree)
• South East Cornwall (Plymouth, Cawsand, Looe, Polperro, Polruan, River Fowey, Mevagissey, Gorran Haven, Portloe, Portscatho and St Mawes)

Week commencing Monday 2 September

• Orkney (Kirkwall, Deerness, Burray, South Ronaldsay, Stromness, Birsay, Tingwall, Eday, Westray, Sanday, Stronsay, Hoy)
• Outer Hebrides (Stornoway, North Lochs, North Harris, Scalpay, South Harris, Stockinish, Leverburgh, Bernera (Lewis), Lochmaddy, North Uist, Kallin, Benbecula, Loch Carnan, Lochboisdale, South Uist and Eriskay, Barra, Northbay, Castlebay, Bernera (N Uist), Carloway, Back, Portnaguran and Ness)
• Isle of Skye (Broadford, Portree, Uig, Snizort, Dunvegan, Bracadale, Portnalong, Carbost, Sleat)
• South West Cornwall (Mylor, Penryn, River Fal – Falmouth, Helford River, Porthoustock, Coverack, Cadgwith, Mullion, Porthleven, Portreath, Hayle, St Ives, Penzance, Newlyn, Sennen, Penberth)

Economics of the UK fishing fleet - 2018.

Economics of the UK fishing fleet - 2018

Turnover of the UK fishing fleet was close to £1 billion in 2018, a very
similar figure to 2017. Total operating profit was £268 million, 4% lower
than in 2017. This decrease in operating profit in 2018 was due mainly to
an increase in fuel prices.

• The average price of fuel increased by 19% from 2017 to 2018. Total spend on fuel of the fleet in 2018 was an estimated £136 million, 20% higher than in 2017.• Crew costs were £251 million in 2018. This figure is a 5% decrease from 2017: it is likely that the increase in fuel price reduced the amount of money available to distribute among the crew.• Total operating costs of the UK fleet were £759 million in 2018, a 2% increase from 2017.• Total fishing income of the fleet was £978 million in 2018. This was a similar figure to 2017, although the total weight of landings decreased by 5% in 2018. An increase in the average price of the catch in 2018 helped offset this decrease in weight landed.• The total number of active fishing vessels was 4,512 in 2018. Of these active vessels, around 1,600 were classed by Seafish as low activity vessels with a fishing income of less than £10,000.• Seafish researchers interviewed around 400 skippers and vessel owners during the summer of 2018. These interviews touched on the main factors impacting the financial performance of their businesses, such as the abundance of fish, access to quota, fuel price, the age and health of fishermen and the weather.  • Interviewees reported a mixture of ambitions for the next few years.Possible opportunities included increases in the price of catches, moredirect access to buyers, better infrastructure and expected improvements in fish stocks and quota access. There were mixed views on the future political and trade landscape in the event of EU exit, with some interviewees perceiving it as an opportunity while others felt it was a potential risk to their businesses.

NB: 2018 financial estimates will be revised when vessel accounts for that year are available in
early 2020. A new version of this annual report will be published based on updated estimates.


The full publication is available for download here: Economics of the UK fishing fleet - 2018

Calling all fishermen, fish merchants and others in fish export- helping the UK seafood sector be ready for Brexit - what do and don't we know?

Trade in fish and seafood is a global industry: the UK exports around 70% of what it catches, and imports a significant proportion of the fish processed or consumed in the UK.

When we leave the EU on 31 October, the UK’s trading arrangements with the EU will change, and businesses will need to comply with rules and regulations set by the EU. To ensure trade continues as seamlessly as possible, it is vital the UK seafood industry takes steps to prepare for Brexit.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in partnership with Seafish and the Marine Management Organisation, is hosting a series of events across England to help seafood traders, processors and businesses understand the changes that lie ahead and what they can do to prepare.

• 4th September – Plymouth
• 5th September – Newlyn - venue to be announced soon
• 11th September – Grimsby
• 12th September – Scarborough
• 26th September – Fleetwood
• 4th October – London

The events will contain presentations, face to face discussions and practical demonstrations on a range of topics, including:

• Customs procedures• Food labelling requirements• Export Health Certificates• Catch Certificates• Issues relating to EU workers

Attendees will come away with a clear understanding of the actions they need to take to be ready for Brexit, with an opportunity to discuss these with Defra, Seafish and MMO staff.

The events are open to any individuals or businesses involved in processing and trading fish and seafood with the EU. Registration is on a first come first serve basis and attendees will be notified of venue locations closer to the time.You can register for the events here.

If you have any queries on the events, please contact fishEUexit@defra.gov.uk


Brexit Background:

All UK exporters of seafood to the USA must provide information on the origin of the fish and fish products they export by Monday 2 September 2019.

UK seafood exporters to the USA need to complete this form to provide seafood origin details, which will allow Defra to add the information to the US Government's official List of ‘Intermediary Nations and Products’. This list sets out fish and fish products which are imported into a country for subsequent export to the USA. The list will allows the USA to identify and notify countries that may be importing and re-exporting fish and fishery products from a fishery that is subject to an import prohibition under these new trade rules.

Data must be entered into the form for each product (i.e. per commodity code) exported. Seafood businesses which may be considering exporting their products to the USA in the future are also recommended to complete the form. The data will be supplied to the US Government via Defra.

There are limited opportunities for the UK to amend the USA’s official ‘List of Intermediary Nations and Products’. Failure to provide the relevant information may lead to inaccuracies in the UK data which may therefore affect the acceptability of seafood exported from the UK to the USA in future.


What questions might be put to the panel?

Over the last three years more questions than answers have been raised as we head towards Brexit - what kind of Brexit the UK gets will determine which of these questions and which answers will be most relevant. If we leave either without a deal or with any deal that involves leaving the Customs Union and the Single Market then from 31 October UK fishing vessels landing fish or shellfish in the UK for export will face significant changes - it will not be business as usual.

Sarah Adkins, a solicitor with nearly fours years’s experience in advising on Brexit, has been trying to make sense of where the industry stands with regard to the exportation of fish - especially here in the south west where up to 90% of some fish species caught are exported across the Channel and beyond. The Single Market enables businesses located within it to sell to each other without regulatory checks because of the level playing field in environmental, employment, health and safety and other standards together with mutual recognition by member states of qualifications and standards in each other’s countries. No third country, as the UK will become, can enjoy this unless it is a member of the European Free Trade Association and either accepts all four freedoms of the internal market as a member of the European Economic Area (Norway, Iceland and Lichenstein) or has multiple bilateral agreements with the EU that in effect incorporate the four freedoms (like Switzerland). The EFTA countries are outside the EU customs union and so customs checks are required at EU borders. EFTA countries do not benefit from the EU’s international agreements. The rules to which Brexit UK will be subject when exporting to any EU and EFTA countries are the rules that the UK itself currently applies to imports from third countries.

Defra regularly updates its online advice to exporting and importing fish if there’s a no deal Brexit: . It should be noted that the vast majority of these requirements will apply to exporting fish even if there is a deal, unless the UK remains within the EU internal market like Norway. Some of the many questions, issues and uncertainties that need clear answers, guidance and action are set out below:

1. EU law prohibits the import of products of animal origin from non-EU establishments that have not been included on the Non-EU list of Approved Establishments. George Eustace MP has advised that the EU will add the UK to the list of approved exporting third countries once it leaves the EU. The UK needs to approve establishments and notify them to the EU. The process is set out here. The Food Standards Agency is currently supporting Defra in collating a list of establishments to notify to the EU. Although the UK already has a list of approved establishments as an EU member this will not automatically convert in to the list for submission to the EU and does not include establishments that wish to export to the EU in the future. All establishments involved in preparing fish and fish products for export to the EU need to be listed. Sea fishing vessels do not need to be listed unless they are factory or freezer vessels. For further information on how to ensure establishments are listed see. In the event of a no deal Brexit no food of animal origin, including fish, could be exported to the EU until ten working days after publication of the amended approved list on the DG SANTE website. What support will be available for the fishing industry in the event that establishments sending e.g. Newlyn fish to the EU are not authorised to export before 31 October?

Amendment: I had understood that the EU approval of the UK as a third country exporter had been made and would simply await whatever Brexit date. However, that is not the case. The approval expired in June 2019. The UK’s application for re-approval was to have been considered on 11 October but that this has been postponed and no new date yet set. So, yet more uncertainty for UK food exporters: https://twitter.com/allierenison/status/1166730222064013313?s=12.

2. Most fish consignments (except for e.g. freshwater fish, cuttle fish, squid and molluscs) require a catch certificate to submit via Traces: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/create-a-uk-catch-certificate. The UK catch certificate issuing office is only open Mon - Fri 9-5. Once the catch certificate has been sent to the EU importer they will be responsible for forwarding it to the the relevant authority and to comply with the specified minimum notice periods prior to import. What effect will this have for the operation of the fish markets and and timing of landings?

3. Unlike exports to the EU from Norway and Iceland, all UK exports of produce of animal origin, including fish, will require sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks and prior notifications, via EU importers, to Border Inspection Posts. An approved inspector will need to seal each consignment before signing an Export Health Certificate for it. UK approved issuers of EHCs for specific export categories are on this list: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-a-professional-to-certify-export-health-certificates/professionals-in-england-scotland-or-wales-who-can-certify-export-health-certificates. Cornwall Council provides guidance: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/food-safety/export-health-certificate-ehc/ - note the current 3 - 5 day EHC application process. There will be charges for the inspections and local authorities can charge for the issue of each EHC. For example, Cornwall Council’s charges: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/food-safety/export-health-certificate-ehc/. A new EHC process is due to be launched in 2019. When will this be available, what will the costs be and how much faster will it be than now? Since specified EHC checks are also required to be undertaken at the EU port of import, even with block EHCs and a new system in place how long is it likely to take for produce to get from a UK fish market to an EU market?

4. All exports will need to enter the EU through a Border Inspection Post. Many EU Channel ports have been upgraded to provide Border Inspection Post facilities and the Commission has approved these for specific products: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019D0607&from=EN. Roscoff will become a Border Inspection Post but will not be authorised to handle live animals. This means that the Plymouth - Roscoff freight ferry route will not be open to live shellfish exports (NB there are some differences in the export processes for fish and shellfish as the latter are live animals). Alternative routes now exist via other French ports such as Cherbourg. Information on exporting to France is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/french-customs-guidance-after-brexit. Have the implications of this for the supply chain been understood and discussed with EU27 importers?

5. Queues at the EU entry ports will be managed through ferry companies prohibiting boarding at UK ports by any lorry that does not have the correct paperwork for every consignment in its load. There are often many consignments in a single load. The Road Haulage Association has reported that if trade remains at current levels a large haulier would need to process several million additional forms per week. One way of minimising delays is for an exporter to engage the expertise of third parties such as Authorised Economic Operators (providing the EU recognises the UK qualifications for these roles). Owing to the extensive use of non-disclosure agreements by the Government many of the issues identified by businesses, ports and operators with understanding of export processes have been kept out of the public eye. 

However, the Road Haulage Association (RHA Brexit Policy) and the Freight Transport Association (FTA Brexit Policy) have a lot of information about export processes available on their websites. Have fish exporters from Newlyn identified agents with the necessary expertise to assist with the new paperwork for each consignment?

6. EU importers will face a lot more red tape to import UK produce. Importers are responsible for giving specified days/hours advance notice of imports once they get both the catch certificate and the separate EHC form. Importers will be responsible for paying for SPS checks at the EU Border Inspection Post and for any tariffs. EU importers who have not previously imported from outside the EU will need to register with their own country’s authorities and obtain an EORI number. UK exporters should check the terms of the contracts they use for trade with EU27 businesses. These may place responsibility for EU entry costs and tariffs on the exporter either directly or via reference to INCOTERMS.

7. Leaving the Single Market adds red tape to every layer of EU trade, so as well as the need to understand the extra bureaucracy for fish it’s important to understand that there are significant changes for hauliers, insurers, data transfers and so on. The UK chemicals sector is particularly impacted by Brexit so any businesses relying on particular chemicals should contact their supplier. This applies more generally to all EU imports. Have exporters discussed the implications of the new requirements with all other parties involved in the trade process?

8. From 31 October 2019 (or later Brexit) UK fishermen will lose the right to access all EU (including Irish) and EEA (including Norwegian) waters as well as over 70 EU agreements with other countries regarding access to fishing waters and sustainable stocks. In addition, around 30% of UK total exports are to non EU/EEA countries under EU trade facilitation arrangements for which no continuity has been agreed. A number of these are relevant to fish exports so exporters should, check whether or not they will be able to continue to export on current terms. The Department for International Trade has a form for use by businesses with Brexit enquiries: https://www.great.gov.uk/eu-exit-news/contact/?_ga=2.268559474.242181928.1566895407-1223614390.1377702940. For fish exports to countries that require export health certificates it will be necessary to check on a country-by-country basis whether UK establishments will continue to be approved exporters. For example, many countries (including China) stipulate that UK establishments must be approved under EU Regulation 853/2004, which will no longer apply to the UK from 31 October: https://www.gov.uk/export-health-certificates. It is understood that Defra is seeking to update EHCs in discussion with other countries.

9. All UK importers and exporters are required to have an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number. HMRC has just announced that all VAT registered UK businesses will be issued with an EORI number if they do not already have one. Businesses that are not registered for VAT must ensure that they have an EORI number. These are easy to apply for on line and essential to have for all importers and/or exporters: https://www.gov.uk/eori.

10. The EU has published Brexit Preparedness Notices in which further information can be found: https://ec.europa.eu/info/brexit/brexit-preparedness/preparedness-notices_en. These include advice on fisheries: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/file_import/fisheries_and_aquaculture_en.pdf and movements of live animals (including shellfish): https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/file_import/movements_of_live_animals_en.pdf. 

Advice to EU fishing sectors in the event of a no deal Brexit is available here, in section 5: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/ga/ip_19_2052

In summary, under a no deal Brexit on 31 October the UK will lose all of the benefits of the Single Market on which 46% (£289bn) of UK exports and 54% of imports relied in 2018 (Statistics on UK-EU trade - Parliament 

UK https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk › CBP-7851 › CBP-7851) as well as hundreds of EU international agreements and arrangements covering another 30+% of trade (e.g. https://ig.ft.com/brexit-treaty-database/ and https://europa.eu/european-union/topics/trade_en). Interpreting the information released by the Department for International Trade (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-trade-agreement-continuity-statistics-and-analysis/uk-trade-with-trade-agreement-continuity-tac-countries-statistical-ad-hoc-release) it seems that the UK has secured trade continuity agreements for 63% of 10.7% of all UK trade but on worse terms than now for over 80% of this, largely owing to the loss of Single Market elements such as in the UK/Norway trade continuity agreement.

It is to be hoped that the forthcoming events held by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in partnership with Seafish (which also provides information at: https://www.seafish.org/article/preparing-your-business-for-eu-exit) and the Marine Management Organisation will have answers to all of the above questions, concerns and many more issues.

Amendment: I had understood that the EU approval of the UK as a third country exporter had been made and would simply await whatever Brexit date. However, that is not the case. The approval expired in June. I understand that the UK’s application for re-approval was to have been considered on 11 October but that this has been postponed and no new date yet set. So, yet more uncertainty for UK food exporters: https://twitter.com/allierenison/status/1166730222064013313?s=12. 

Busy Tuesday morning in Newlyn.

Breaking dawn found a Cornishman alongside the fish market this morning - waiting to land his trip of fish...

inside the market there's a good ix of beam trawl fish like these big blonde ray...

Dover soles, or tongues as they are known at this size...

and monk, this one being of such a size it was landed whole as opposed to the norm in the south west which is to land monk tails only...

summer always sees bigger hauls of witches, easily confused with megrim sole...

the unmistakable turbot...

with some of the netter fleet temporarily landing their fish exclusively to the markets at Plymouth and Brixham it remains for local boats like the Stelissa and...

 the Silver Dawn to supply Newlyn with top quality MSC Certified hake...

summer is a great time for big tub gurnards...

laid on top of each other makers it easier to distinguish blonde from spotted ray - but which is which?..

many of the smaller boats wing their ray, saving on limited fishroom space, saving ice and they sell the frames to the local crabbers...

Dover soles make changes to the colour of their topside skin dependant on the kind of seabed they frequent...

looks like that man Cod was in amongst the bass again...

while the beam trawler Sapphire II make a good landing of megrim, Dover sole and monk...

the inshore boat Millennia picked away at a few good John Dory hauls...

time to whisk those fish away...

especially the big hake...

yet more line caught bass from off the Lizard...

to go with several tons of mackerel now being caught all round the bays of west Cornwall...

stunning JD...

and red mullet don't come much fresher than these landed just hours ago......

the sardine boys have had a hard time trying to pick up good marks in amongst big shoals of scad in the bay of late...

from fridge...

to the quayside...

the ever-cheerful young James, skipper of the Cornishman  in his office...

is living the dream...

 countless seamen, fishermen and sailors have sat on watch making a monkey's fist at night...

with the scallop season in full swing there's a constant stream of visiting boats calling in to Newlyn to land...

scallops is not all they catch it seems...

these scallopers have sides especially modified...

 to hold and tip the contents of the dredges safely on to conveyor belts for sorting...

one of the Crystal Sea's  nets is ashore for checking...

the stern net pound of the Ocean Pride dwarfs that of the Stelissa...

Still Waters indeed this morning...

to set the Penlee Lifeboats off nicely against the backdrop of the new lifeboat house...

there's no shortage of road haulage available for the England's largest and south westernmost fishing port.

They took the Bait!

Local film maker (using traditional film rather than digital countries) Mark Jenkin is currently wowing the film world with his piercing look at Cornwall's relationship with tourism.

Down the hill in the village, someone has attached a handwritten sign to a lamp-post: “Newlyn fishermen deserve better.” The sentiment is vague, but palpably desperate. In 2016, Newlyn was the largest fishing port in England for landings, but it is among the 25 of Britain’s 41 ports classified as deprived. In May, a report outlined the mental illness crisis in Cornwall’s fishing community, stemming from poor work-life balance, precarious employment and weather, dangerous working conditions and sleep deprivation.

“They’re the last hunters, and they’re my heroes,” says Jenkin. “I’d really love them to see it and for them to know that there is somebody who’s putting the complexity of their lives on screen rather than being treated simplistically as a political bargaining chip. They’re always demonised, whether it’s politically or environmentally.”

The EU referendum took place about a year before Bait started shooting, but the result didn’t change Jenkin’s story. “You could see it coming,” he says. “It’s a disenfranchised people who were given the chance to reject something. Fishermen are always getting screwed over.” Still, he doesn’t think Brexit is the answer. “A complete rethink in how you treat working people and industry is actually what’s needed. The fishermen will get screwed over again.”

Bait’s local premiere takes place at Newlyn Filmhouse, an arthouse cinema in a former fish merchant that opened in April 2016. It is a brilliant local resource, but doesn’t it exemplify the tensions in Jenkin’s film? “There’s a danger that Newlyn will get gentrified like a lot of other places,” he admits. The old warehouse “could have easily been holiday flats. It is a funny one – I’m opposed to gentrification, but if it’s an arthouse cinema, we’ll let it go.”

That is not as much of a cop-out as it sounds: “The thing is, with Newlyn, historically, there’s always been a link between the arts world and the world of fishing,” says Jenkin. “They’re not that different, really.”

He brings up the prewar slum clearances, when Penzance town council intended to replace 350 “squalid” Newlyn houses with a new estate. Artists including Stanhope Forbes and Geoffrey Garnier joined local fishing families in challenging the plans. Together, they managed to save more than a third of the homes. It comes back to the idea that Jenkin has spent two decades refining: rural communities can’t afford to be stagnant. They have to evolve, but the line between survival and exploitation is a fine one.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1438173/news

World's toughest ocean-going race team of four ladies have made Newlyn their temporary training home!

Bobbing gently in her berth is a very small rowing boat that will be home to a team of 4 ladies from the South West who are taking part in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, raising money and awareness for Cornwall Blood Bikes, Carefree and Hospiscare Exmouth and Lympstone. 

The ladies are taking part in a 3,000 mile epic row in a small, compact ocean rowing boat which will be their 'home' for possibly 3 months while we are at sea. We leave from La Gomera in December 2019 and finish in Antigua, hopefully in March 2020.

"Although there were and are many deserving causes we really wanted to do something that would specifically benefit those close to us."

Home for the challenge is this tiny R45 rowing boat currently berthed in Newlyn while the ladies step up their at sea training programme - the current race record for their class of boat is around 27 days...

taking part will undoubtedly bring plenty of media coverage so this is a great opportunity for individuals or businesses to ensure that they get every bit of support they deserve for their efforts...

when they begin the challenge proper in December of this year and take up their rowing seats...

and the tiny accommodation that will be their seagoing, endlessly moving, rocking and rolling home for possibly three months!.

This Talisker Whicky Atlantic Challenge documentary of the 2015 challenge included a similar team of ladies, all mums, whose lives were changed for the good in many unexpected ways before, during and after

Public consultation on Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard.

The industry is being asked to provide feedback on the next version of RFS during a 60-day public consultation.

Stakeholders across the seafood industry are being asked to respond to a 60-day public consultation launched today (Thursday 15 August) by providing feedback on the draft standard criteria for the next iteration of the Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS), to be called the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard (RFVS).

The RFVS standard criteria have been released by Seafish, the public body that supports the £10bn UK seafood industry, and Global Seafood Assurances (GSA), a not-for-profit organisation seeking to offer full supply chain assurance for wild and farmed seafood in partnership with existing providers. The two organisations are working together to develop the RFVS, which will build on the strong foundations established by the RFS to create a globally applicable standard able to provide assurance of decent working conditions and operational best practice on board fishing vessels, from the catch to the quay.

The revised draft standard criteria were informed by the objectives outlined in the Terms of Reference, established in response to extensive feedback received during an initial consultation in 2018 and published earlier this year.

The overarching goals of the development process are to create a standard which:

• Continues to meet the UK seafood sector supply chain assurance requirements, both for products sourced within the UK and beyond;
• Is capable of meeting international supply chain assurance requirements;
• Is internationally credible, third-party assessed and has a certification model aligned to the requirements of ISO 17065; and
• Has the ability to deliver a streamlined certification process.

Based on the consultation feedback, and referencing internationally agreed protocols and guidelines, the draft standard criteria have been developed by Technical Working Groups. The Technical Working Groups are composed of industry representatives, NGOs, Standard holders and experts from all sectors of the fishing industry and seafood supply chain, from around the world. The process also incorporated feedback received from nominated peer reviewers and current RFS certificate holders within the UK catching sector.

Helen Duggan, Head of RFS Transition at Seafish said: “We’re keen to ensure that the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard is fit for purpose and meets market needs. To achieve this, we’re employing a robust, collaborative and interactive process to develop the draft standard criteria, mirroring best practice in international standard development.

“We are pleased to be able to share the draft standard criteria publically, and wish to thank the Technical Working Group members for their time and expertise in producing such a robust set of criteria. 

“We are now asking stakeholders from across the industry to respond to the 60-day public consultation and take this opportunity to provide their feedback on the draft Standard. 

“The public consultation also presents a fantastic opportunity for current RFS members to have their say, and we’ll be reaching out to them directly to ask for their invaluable feedback.”

Melanie Siggs, European Director for GSA said: “We are thrilled to have arrived at this important milestone and share the extensive work of the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard development process thus far”.

“This is a critically important standard which, using global best practice guidelines and extensive consultation, addresses social issues, human rights and operational practice on board fishing vessels catching our seafood.”

“It will enable those in responsible supply chains to demonstrate the vessels catching their seafood take care of their crews and vessel operations. This can add to their assurance of environmental best practice in fisheries. Over time, we will learn more and more about how to embed such best practice as the norm”.

The public consultation will be open for 60 days with the deadline for responses on Monday 14 October 2019. All comments submitted during the consultation period must be made via the official feedback process – by returning a completed public comment form, available on the Seafish website here seafish.org/article/rfvs-public-consultation, to RFS@seafish.co.uk.

Feedback received will be acknowledged and used to inform the development of the final draft of the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard, to be released during spring 2020. A synopsis of comments received will also be released publicly to show acknowledgement and attribution.

For further information visit seafish.org/responsible-fishing-scheme or contact Helen Duggan, Head of RFS Transition at Seafish, on Helen.Duggan@seafish.co.uk or 01472 252 347.