Reporting lost fishing gear: EIR release

Information requested

• What is the compliance rate of lost fishing gear reporting? How many fishers have provided reports?
• What is done with the reports when they are received?
• Is there a registry of lost gear reports that can be accessed?
• Do you have an idea of how often fishers lose gear and then retrieve it themselves?
• Have there been any enforcement actions against violations of these requirements?

Response

We have already published data on lost fishing gear and it can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202100155758/.

This covers 2014-2020 and there are four new reports which I have included below.

1. As noted above, I have included a link to published data and some additional reports. These cover the year, the location (sometimes in coordinates and sometimes in ICES statistical rectangles), and the type of gear.

Year	Location	Gear	Description
2020	27E7	DRB	Dredge
2020	29E7	OTT	Otter Twin Trawl
2021	46E1	TBN	Nephrop Trawl
2021	39E5	TBB	Beam Trawl

2. The reports are logged with the competent authority. As you will know, in accordance with Article 48 of the EU regulation 1224/2009 (the "Control Regulation") it is the responsibility of the vessel master to attempt to retrieve lost fishing gear as soon as possible, and also to inform the competent authority if he is unable to retrieve the gear.

3. Please see 1.

4. Where gear has been recovered the fisher should inform the competent authority. However, where gear has been logged as lost and the competent authority is not told of its recovery, we cannot tell whether it remains lost or whether it has been recovered and the competent authority has simply not been informed. 

5. There has been no significant (fixed penalty notices, court actions) enforcement action against a failure to inform the competent authority of gear having been lost. 

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