Landing Nephrops
It is a condition in the 10m & Under licence which requires vessel owners to complete the NEP1 form in respect of all landings of nephrops over 12 kgs. These returns are required to be submitted on a weekly basis to the Fishery Office at which the vessel is administered.
This provision was introduced in 1999 when catch limits for Nephrops were established for the 10m & Under fleet. These forms are key in maintaining the integrity of recorded landings and the quota management of this stock.
Landing Shellfish
The shellfish landing requirements are a different matter as they form part of a package of measures supporting both the shellfish licensing regime and the scientific stock assessment.
Since 2004 vessels must be specifically licensed to fish for crabs ((edible crabs (Cancer pagurus), velvet crabs (Liocarcinus puber), spider crabs (Maia squinado) and green crabs (Carcinus maenus)), lobsters (Homarus gammarus) and crawfish (Palinuus spp.).
Under these arrangements, shellfish entitlements allowing unrestricted amounts of crabs and lobsters to continue to be caught were issued to owners of vessels already licensed where they demonstrated that they caught more than 200 kgs of lobsters or more than 750 kgs of crabs in any calendar year between 1st Jan 1998 and 31st March 2004.
It is also a condition in the 10m & Under licence requiring owners of vessels with the shellfish entitlement to complete the SHELL 1 form for all landings of lobsters and crabs and submit on a weekly basis to the Fishery Office at which the vessel is administered.
Licensed vessel owners who do not hold the Shellfish Entitlement are allowed to land up to 5 lobsters and 25 crabs per day.