Consultation on Proposed Pelagic Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs)

Marine Directorate

Email: FMPs@gov.scot

Consultation on five proposed Joint UK Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) for pelagic fish stocks

22 July 2026

Dear Consultee,

The Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) as amended, as required by the 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, two are for Nephrops stocks and a further eight are for pelagic fish stocks.

This consultation is for five of the eight pelagic FMPs and they bring together evidence on the state of the relevant 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 UK pelagic fisheries as well as relevant policies and actions intended to help realise that vision.

The remaining three pelagic FMPs (North Sea greater silver smelt, West of Scotland greater silver smelt and North Sea horse mackerel) will be consulted on later in 2026.

This consultation is an opportunity for you to help shape and influence the future of pelagic fisheries management policy in the 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 five pelagic 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 they are able to submit their 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 (Citizen Space is an online consultation tool) and on the Scottish Government website by following this link:

• Consultation document
• Proposed North Sea herring FMP
• Proposed West Coast of Scotland (and Clyde) herring FMP
• Proposed Atlanto Scandian herring FMP
• Proposed Northern Shelf mackerel FMP
• Proposed Northern Shelf blue whiting FMP
• Strategic Environment Report (SEA)
• Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA)
• Nature Conservation Advice from NatureScot and JNCC for pelagic FMPs
• Executive summaries of Nature Conservation Advice from Natural England and JNCC for North Sea Herring, Northern Shelf blue whiting, Northern Shelf mackerel (English waters only)
• Summary of Nature Conservation Advice from Natural Resources Wales (Welsh waters only).

Responses

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

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

Consultation on proposed Pelagic Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs)

Responses should be received by 23:59 on 14 October 2026.

Yours faithfully,

The FMP Team

Marine Directorate

Scottish Government

FMPs@gov.scot