Scottish Government

In December 2009 the Fisheries Administrations commissioned Peter Cleasby to conduct a review of the Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish). The review was part of the programme of regular reviews of Non Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) which check whether they are acting appropriately, have sound governance and are fulfilling the role for which they were established.

This Review of Seafish was conducted in a compressed timescale in order to feed into and inform the then UK Government's Public Value Programme. This time constraint meant that it did not include the normal level of engagement with the industry that we would expect from a formal review of a NDPB, although targeted engagement was carried out.

At the time of the Review, Seafish's power to raise levy on imported fish was subject to a legal challenge from the Bloomsbury International Group. The Court of Appeal handed down their judgment against Seafish's levy raising powers in 2010, days after the finalisation of the review. Given the uncertainties this created about Seafish's future, the review was not published at the time, nor was a government response prepared.

In June 2011 the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the Court of Appeal's judgment, restoring in full Seafish's levy powers.

Following the judgement the four fisheries administrations published the Cleasby Review , and building on the work already undertaken, have issued a Discussion Document to seek views on the key themes and issues highlighted.

The Discussion Document can be found here.

Contributing to the Discussion

Responses to this discussion can be made in writing. If you are a Seafish levy payer, it would be helpful if you could include your Seafish levy number. Please e-mail responses no later than 11 November to seafish.discussion@defra.gsi.gov.uk . If you wish you can send in your response by letter to:

Douglas Stewart
Area 2C Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR

All responses will be shared with all four fisheries administrations

Additionally, we will be holding a series of workshops across the country, in collaboration with Seafish, to explore the key proposals and hope that you can attend one of them.