Economic link to vessel Patricia Marta OB113 query: EIR release

Information requested

How the vessel Patricia Marta OB113 complies with the economic link to our country given the fact this vessel never lands any fish in Scotland.

Response

In response to your question, it is first important to outline the licence conditions with which fishing vessels must meet in order to comply with the economic link.

The following was taken from the licence conditions in a Category AO licence (vessels over 10m in length) as of 4 June 2025.

9. ECONOMIC LINK

9.1 This condition applies to any vessel whose total landings in a calendar year of herring; mackerel, Nephrops, haddock, monkfish, cod, hake and whiting combined amount to 10 or more tonnes. In these circumstances, the licence holder must ensure that there is a real economic link between the fishing activities of the vessel and Scotland.

9.2 A real economic link will be deemed to have been complied with in relation to fishing operations conducted between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025 if the following criteria are met:

a.) Landings
At least 55% by weight of total landings of stocks covered by these provisions (herring; mackerel, Nephrops, haddock, monkfish, cod, hake and whiting) must be made directly into Scottish ports; or,

b.) Transfer of Quotas ("Quota Gifting")
The licence holder transfers to the Scottish Government fishing opportunities for quota species equivalent to 26 per cent of monetary value of the shortfall in landings of quota species that would result in compliance with condition 9.2 (a) above.

9.3 The licence holder is responsible for demonstrating compliance with whatever option has been chosen to the satisfaction of the Scottish Ministers.

In order to comply, a vessel must either land more than 55% (of the named species) into Scotland, or otherwise make a quota transfer (in the following year).

As has been highlighted to you in previous correspondence (reference 202500471422), the vessel met the 2024 economic link obligations by make a transfer of quota back to the Scottish Government in 2025 (Fishing - Scottish Economic Link licence condition: guidance - gov.scot).

I provide below and in the enclosed documents the audit trail for the vessel completing its quota payback in 2025 and thereafter being fully compliant with the economic link requirements.

DOCUMENT 1

Email to the PO manager of the Patricia Marta, notifying them of the requirement to complete a quota transfer in order for the vessel to meet its economic link obligation.

Some information has been redacted as it is outwith the scope of your request.

An exception under regulation 10(5)(e) of the EIRs (substantial prejudice to confidentiality of commercial information) applies to some of the information you have requested. This exception applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the confidentiality of commercial information provided by the Patricia Marta and thus cause substantial harm to their commercial interests. Disclosing this information would be likely to give buyers and competitors an advantage and so could significantly harm their commercial activity.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open and transparent government, and to help account for the expenditure of public money. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the commercial interests of companies which are authorised by Scottish ministers to land sea fish.

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.

DOCUMENT 2

Approved Domestic Quota Swap form confirming the quota transfer from the vessel’s group to the Scottish 10m and under group.

You will note that the total quota in this form is greater than the amount due from the Patricia Marta. Their payback is just a part of this transfer of quota but the full amounts, as outlined in Document 1, are included.

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.

About FOI

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EIR 202500474157 - Information released - Document 1

File type

PDF

File size

85.9 kB

EIR 202500474157 - Information released - Document 2

File type

Excel document

File size

19.2 kB