Fishing vessel weekly licence variations 17 October 2025

Openings and closures

Producer Organisation/Non-Producer Organisation Group	Type of Licence	Reason	Species	Area of Sea	limit	Effective Date
10 Metre and Under – all sub-groups	AU	Closure	Mackerel	IIIa &IV; EU waters of IIa, IIIbcd	N/A	23:59 hours on 18 October 2025
Non-sector	AO	Closure	Mackerel	IIIa &IV; EU waters of IIa, IIIbcd	N/A	23:59 hours on 18 October 2025

 

 

 

New licence condition

Licence Type	Reason	Condition	Effective Date
AU 10 Metre and Under	New Offshore MPA Fisheries management measures	5.30	16 October 2025
AUP (sector) 10 Metre and Under	New Offshore MPA Fisheries management measurers	5.30	16 October 2025
AO Over 10 Metre (all)	New Offshore MPA Fisheries management measures	5.33	16 October 2025

Fishing vessel quota limits tables: 2025 - showing the quota limits applicable to 10m and under and over 10m non-sector vessels.

Fisheries closures table: 2025 - showing all fisheries closures, by group, for Scottish fishing licences.

Notice to fishers

New Offshore MPA Fisheries measures – effective 16 October 2025

A reminder that The Offshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing Methods) (Scotland) Order 2025 is scheduled to come into force Thursday 16 October 2025.  

This Order introduces fisheries management measures for 20 offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to protect sensitive habitats and species.  

Measures are site specific and include:  

• Full-site and zonal restrictions  

• Restrictions on the use of certain fishing gear types in designated areas 

• Vessels are not prohibited to go at speeds of less than 6 knots within restricted areas. 

Enforcement 

Suspected incursions within any of the areas as detailed within SSI 2025/240 will be investigated by Marine Directorate and subsequently Enforcement Action may be taken on any fishing vessel not authorised to fish in these areas commencing from 16th October 2025.  

To support implementation, we've published: 

• a guidance document with maps, gear codes, and coordinates 

• the Scottish Government’s response to the consultation 

• updated conservation advice from JNCC for two sites 

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to review these materials and share with your members and others who may be affected or interested. 

If you have any questions, please get in touch at Marine_Biodiversity@gov.scot 

Important update – Seafood export to the EU January 2026 changes

From 10 January 2026, the EU will require exporters to provide additional information for seafood entering the EU. These changes are likely to affect you if the fish you land is exported to the EU. You can minimise any impacts by familiarising yourself with these changes and providing the required information to your buyer.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is updating the Fish Export Service (FES) to align with the upcoming requirements.

You will also receive another version of this letter if you are a registered user of the Fish Export System. 

What is changing

I previously contacted you at the end of June about updates to FES which were introduced in July. These updates allow exporters to input the start date of the fishing trip and transport documentation information into FES.  

From 4th September, we will roll out the next set of updates including the requirement to input gear type and fishing area information into FES. Further details are available online at our new Fish, Trace Ship information site.

The additional information is currently voluntary but will become mandatory for exports to the EU from 10 January 2026. If you do not provide the relevant information to your buyer, so that it can be passed on to the exporter, you may not be able to sell your produce. 

What you need to do

Please remember #FishTraceShip and get onboard with the changes. By familiarising yourself early with the new information requirements you can support your buyer. Even if you don’t export directly yourself, these changes may affect you as without the additional information, you may not be able to sell your produce.

Get involved

We are also looking for fishers, merchants and exporters to join our research panel to help us design and implement the updates to FES. If you are interested, please sign up here. 

Unsubscribe

If you don’t want to hear more about FES, please email UKIUUSLO@marinemanagement.org.uk  to be removed from future mailings.

Nicholas Greenwood 
Head of Marine Protection and Operational Services 

Remote Electronic Monitoring

Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) is now mandatory for any vessel dredging for scallops in Scottish waters, and for Scottish scallop dredge vessels wherever they are fishing. Read the Remote Electronic Monitoring guidance.

The legislation - The Sea Fisheries (Remote Electronic Monitoring and Regulation of Scallop Fishing) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 – also requires REM on relevant pelagic vessels from 7 March 2026. In order to prepare for the new rules coming into force, remote inspections and system test trips can be carried out from 7 September 2025.  Guidance on the pelagic vessel requirements will be published in due course.