This change requires all licenced under 10m fishing vessel owners to record their catch for each fishing trip.
Below is additional guidance to help you understand the process and advise you of some changes that have been introduced in light of feedback received from both
fishers and other interested parties.
Information about the Catch Recording service can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/record-your-catch
Registration
If you have not received an invite to register for the Catch Recording system please contact us straight away.
If you need help to register we offer one to one support, unfortunately due to coronavirus (COVID 19) restrictions we are unable to offer face to face training; but you can contact us on:
Welsh speaking: 03000 257920
English speaking: 03000 258923 or 03000 258907
Due to the nature of our work you may be transferred to our answering service, we would encourage you to leave a message and we will call back as soon as possible.
What You Must Record
You must create a catch record for everything you catch on every fishing trip.
You’ll be asked for information about your trip and the live weight of what you’ve
caught.
Weights can be converted to live weights by multiplying them by a conversion factor.
If you catch quota species or species subject to catch limits all fish, including those below the minimum landing size, must be recorded unless exemptions apply.
ICES Area
You must create a separate catch record for each ICES Area you have fished in.
These must be created within 24 hours of landing. You will be asked for the area, the statistical sub rectangle, where the majority of your catch was caught. Maps of the ICES area can be seen on https://www.gov.uk/guidance/record-your-catch
Assistance
For those who will be phoning catch records through to the contact centre, phones would normally be staffed from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Due to the impact of COVID19 this service has been temporarily reduced to 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. At other times, the contact centre will run an automated service allowing you to leave your catch record.
The contact centre number is 0300 0203 788
Calls to 03 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to a 01 or 02 number and
must count towards any inclusive minutes in the same way as 01 and 02 calls.
During January we ran drop in sessions at various locations throughout Wales to
answer questions and provide support with the Catch Recording service. We have listened to the feedback that you provided and we have made the following changes to the process:
Setting up a third party to record your catch
If you are unable to use the Catch Recording app or website yourself to record your catch, but still want to use the digital service, you can set up a third party (i.e. member of your family), to do this for you. You will need to set them up as a skipper.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/record-your-catch
Recording quota/Non-quota species
Concerns were raised about recording quota species prior to landing. In recognition, we have extended the quota species reporting period to 24 hours, the same as nonquota species. You are required to record all catch within 24 hours of landing this includes both quota and non-quota species.
Keep/store pots
During the training sessions we told you to only record catch once it was landed, we
have since had to change this for catch kept in keep/store pots. If you complete a
fishing trip and put your catch directly into a keep/store pot, you must submit a catch
record for what you have placed into the keep/store pot. The catch recording service has a section for recording the shellfish placed into store pots.
You are not required to complete a separate catch record when you empty the store pot.
We need to know what has been caught and kept in keep/store pots for each trip.
This is to understand the effort required to obtain your catch. This will give us better
evidence to help maintain healthy fish stocks.
The information required on your catch record is the same as you used to record on the MSAR1 form which you no longer have to complete.
Example
Mr Jones catches approximately 20kg of lobster on Monday and stores in his
keep pot, he records his catch of approximately 20kg on Monday evening.
Mr Jones catches approximately 30kg of lobster on Tuesday, he also collects
his catch from Monday from his keep pot and lands both days catch. On
Tuesday evening he records his 30kg catch from Tuesday. He has already
recorded his catch from Monday so does not need to record it again.
De-minimus
A question has been raised about why there isn’t a de-minimus threshold for
reporting of 50kg in line with over-10 metre vessels. We are asking you to record all fish in order to understand fully the catch being taken. For some stocks, catch limits are very small and applying a de-minimis would not be appropriate. For paper and electronic recording for vessels over 10 metres, there is an exemption on recording fish under 50kg in the log book, but subsequently landing declarations are provided giving accurate weights of all fish. Welsh Ministers have removed the requirement from the Catch Recording Service for under-10 metre vessels to provide a landing declaration.
Vessel Monitoring Device for Licenced fishing boats under 12m
Welsh Ministers plan to introduce legislation in 2021 that will require all licensed British fishing boats under 12 metres in length operating in Welsh waters and, all Welsh fishing vessels under 12 metres wherever they are operating (including outside of Welsh waters), to have a monitoring device on board.
The installation of inshore Vessel Monitoring System (iVMS) devices was due to take place between February and November 2020, unfortunately due to COVID19 and other unforeseen events, implementation has been delayed. Installation is now anticipated to commence in September 2020 with completion expected by August 2021. Our appointed contractor will contact you directly to arrange a suitable date and time to fit a device.