Consultation on the 11 Proposed Joint UK Fisheries Management Plans for Demersal Fish Stocks

Marine Directorate

Consultation on 11 Proposed Joint UK Fisheries Management Plans for Demersal Fish Stocks

20 November 2025

Dear Consultee,

The Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) as amended, as required by the UK Fisheries Act 2020 (the Act), sets out how the UK fisheries authorities (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland) will prepare and publish 43 Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) by 2028. The Scottish Government is the coordinating authority for 21 FMPs with a delivery date of end of 2026. Of the 21 FMPs, 11 are for demersal fish stocks.

The 11 Demersal FMPs are the subject of this consultation, and they bring together evidence on the state of the relevant fish stocks and identify policies and actions necessary to manage our fisheries in an effective and sustainable way. They set out both the vision for the management of the demersal fisheries as well as relevant policies and actions intended to help realise that vision.

This consultation is an opportunity for you to help shape and influence the future of demersal fisheries management policy in UK and builds upon previous engagement with a wide range of stakeholders across the UK. The consultation survey has three parts:

1. Personal details and confidentiality (required)

2. Questions on the 11 Demersal FMPs, Strategic Environmental Assessment and the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

3. Consultee feedback on the Online Survey (required)

You only need to respond to the questions that you wish to answer. There is a mixture of general and specific questions. However, all respondents must complete the required 'Consultee Feedback on the Online Survey' and ‘personal details and confidentiality’ sections before you are able to submit your response to the online survey. We welcome any further information and evidence to support this work. You can supply that directly via FMPs@gov.scot.

The following documents can be found on Citizen Space:

• Consultation document
• Proposed Northern Shelf Haddock FMP
• Proposed Atlantic Haddock FMP
• Proposed North Sea and Eastern Channel Whiting FMP
• Proposed West Coast of Scotland Whiting FMP
• Proposed Northern Shelf Anglerfish FMP
• Proposed Northern Shelf Megrim FMP
• Proposed North Sea and West Coast of Scotland Saithe FMP
• Proposed Northern Shelf Hake
• Proposed Northern Shelf Ling FMP
• Proposed Atlantic Cod FMP
• Proposed Northern Shelf Cod FMP
• Strategic Environment Report (SEA)
• Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA)
• Nature Conservation Advice from NatureScot and JNCC for Demersal FMPs
• Executive Summaries of Nature Conservation Advice from Natural England and JNCC (English waters only)

Responses

To submit your consultation response please complete the consultation questionnaire provided through Citizen Space (Citizen Space is an online consultation tool). If you require a copy of the consultation, please contact us at FMPs@gov.scot.

Responses, additional information, or documents can be sent to:

Responses should be received by 23:59 on 11 March 2026.

Yours faithfully,

The FMP Team

Marine Directorate

Scottish Government

FMPs@gov.scot