Fishing licences being issued in Scotland: EIR release

Information requested

1. Which Authority is responsible for issuing licences to allow fishing with set nets including: tangle, gill and trammel nets in Scotland?

2. Which Authority is responsible for the enforcement of legislation allowing fishing with set nets in Scotland? 

3. Which dates were the Inner Hebrides and Minches SAC designated as 

i) a Candidate SAC

ii) as a full SAC?

4. Please supply all the Appropriate Assessments required under Article 6(3) of the Habitat’s Directive for the Inner Hebrides and Minches SAC, including Appropriate Assessments if any areas were opened up to set nets after the designation as a Candidate SAC.

5. Please supply the advice given by SNH/NatureScot for each of the Appropriate Assessments in question 4.

6. Please supply the list of references held by the Marine Directorate used to assess the bycatch of cetaceans in set nets.

7. Please supply all correspondence between

i) SNH/NatureScot and Marine Scotland/Marine Directorate and

ii) Marine Scotland/Marine Directorate and fishery stakeholders regarding the use of set nets in the Inner Hebrides and Minches SAC. 

8. On what date did the prohibition of set nets in the West Coast of Scotland ICES Area VIa as part of the cod recovery plan, come into force?

9. a) Please supply a map showing all Scottish sea areas showing where the use of all types of set net including tangle, trammel and gill nets of any material including monofilament, multi-mono and nylon was prohibited on the date in question

b) Please also supply a map of all Scottish sea areas showing where the carriage of set nets of

i) monofilament and

ii) any other materials including multi-mono and nylon was prohibited on the date in question 8 when prohibition came into force.

c) Please provide maps showing each change in the Scottish sea areas where the use of all types of set net including tangle, trammel and gill nets of any material including monofilament, multi-mono and nylon was prohibited between the date in question 8 until the present.

d) Where there has been a change in area where any type of set nets was prohibited, please provide links to the appropriate legislation and supply the Appropriate Assessments if this occurred within any SAC if not already suppled as answer to question 4.

e) If there have been any decreases in the areas where fishing with any set nets was prohibited on the date in question 8, in the West Coast of Scotland ICES Area VIa, please send a list of all stakeholders consulted.

Response

Questions 1 & 2

In the UK, commercial sea fishing is only allowed if a vessel has a valid fishing licence. This licence gives a general permission to fish and is not linked to any particular type of gear, such as tangle, gill or trammel nets. In some cases, vessels need an extra permission for certain activities - for example, vessels over 10 metres in length need a scallop entitlement before they can use scallop dredges.

Licences for Scottish‑registered vessels are issued and regulated by the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate. A Scottish licence allows a vessel to fish anywhere in UK waters. The licence is subject to restrictions in legislation and licence conditions. Other parts of the UK do the same for their own vessels:

• England – Marine Management Organisation (MMO)
• Northern Ireland – Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)
• Wales – Welsh Government, which issues licences for vessels registered in Welsh ports

Foreign vessels that want to fish in UK waters must hold a licence issued through the UK Single Issuing Authority (UKSIA), operated by the MMO. This system manages access for non‑UK vessels into UK waters. Any licences issued to foreign vessels must be approved by all four of the UK administrations as these licences grant access to UK waters.

When fishing in a particular part of the UK - such as the Scottish Zone - foreign vessels must follow the laws in force in that area, and the relevant UK authority is responsible for enforcing those rules in their respective waters. The Scottish zone is the sea adjacent to Scotland up to the 200 nautical miles limit. The Scottish Ministers (or the Marine Directorate on their behalf) are responsible for ensuring compliance by all vessels fishing in the Scottish zone with fisheries and environmental laws which apply in the Scottish zone.

The Marine Directorate’s Compliance Operations are responsible for the enforcement of legislation relating to static nets set from registered fishing vessels. Local salmon boards and Police Scotland are responsible for enforcing legislation relating to salmon nets and nets set from non-registered fishing vessels.

Question 3

I have provided a timeline in relation to the Inner Hebrides and Minches Special Area of Conservation (SAC) below:

• A public consultation was held in 2016
• Confirmed as a candidate SAC 2016 post consultation
• Submitted to European Commission as candidate SAC September 2016
• Designated as full SAC 17 Dec 2018

Questions 4 & 5

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance an exception under Regulation 10(4)(d), material in the course of completion, unfinished documents, or incomplete data has been applied to some of the information requested.

It may help if I explain that an Appropriate Assessment was not required when the Inner Hebrides and Minches SAC was originally designated, however, the Scottish Government are currently undertaking a fisheries assessment for this site. The documentation for said assessment is still in draft form and currently undergoing internal consideration, refinement and quality assurance. They are not yet in a state suitable for release and do not represent a final draft or approved draft position.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking into account 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 an open, transparent and accountable government. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing a private space for officials to consider the draft content of documents to ensure that factual and accurate information is released in the public domain.

As we have applied Regulation 10(4)(d), under Regulation 13(d) a public authority must also outline when the information will be completed and we are expecting the above outlined fisheries assessment to be completed later this year.

You may find it helpful to search for ‘Inner Hebrides and the Minches SAC’ on the NatureScot SiteLink page: SiteLink - Home. There is also other NatureScot advice that you can find here: MPA and PMF Management Measures for Fishing Activity | NatureScot. 

Question 6

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the specific information you have requested as we do not hold the specified reference information referred to in your request. Therefore, with respect to your request this is a formal notice under Regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs confirming that the Scottish Government does not hold this information.

This information may be available through DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), please contact them via this email address InformationRequests@defra.gov.uk.

You may also find it helpful to review the DEFRA Cetacean Bycatch Observation Scheme (continuation of MB5203) - ME6004 annual reports which provides information in relation to on-board fishery observations and assessments of marine mammal bycatch in UK waters fleet fishing records.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. It is important to note that although we do not hold the information and have applied Regulation 10(4)(a) – information not held, it is a requirement that we have to apply the public interest test.

Wider guidance on the Environmental Information regime can be found in the Key Concepts section under ‘Information Not Held’ and ‘The Public Interest Test’ in the attached Scottish Information Commissioner Briefings and Guidance document. Further guidance on the public interest test can also be found on page 8 of the Scottish Information Commissioner guidance.

Question 7

I have included copies of the information you have requested in the attached annex (A). This includes an initial 2023 assessment of the percentage of the Inner Hebrides and Minches SAC that may have set net restrictions in place, or in development, prior to the consideration of specific management measures for this site.

I also wish to highlight that a small amount of information has been withheld from the documents disclosed under Regulation 11(2) (Personal Data) as it contains personal information and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and in Section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

This exception is not subject to the ‘public interest test’.

Question 8

The cod recovery plan (Council Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 establishing a long-term plan for cod stocks and the fisheries exploiting those stocks (repealed) did not impose restrictions on the use of set nets in area VIA. Additionally, this plan was repealed in 2018 and replaced with Regulation (EU) 2018/973, this also did not introduce any controls on set nets.

The regulations which impose restrictions on the use of static nets in Area VIA include,

• The Inshore Fishing (Monofilament Gill Nets) (Scotland) Order 1996, imposes a restriction on the use of and limits the carriage of monofilament gill nets with a mesh size of less than 250 mm, within the Scottish inshore zone (6 nm limit)
• Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241, which imposes conditions on the use of static nets including their length and depth of water they can be deployed in.
• You may also wish to review Article 13 and point 9 of Annex III to Council Regulation (EC) No 43/2009 which restricts the use of static nets below 200 metres unless they meet certain mesh sizes and dimensions,
• and the Offshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing Methods) (Scotland) Order 2025, which limits the use of static nets in some Offshore Marine Protection Areas.

Questions 9a, b & c

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested as we do not have maps specifically detailing where all types of set nets are prohibited.

Therefore, with respect to your request this is a formal notice under Regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs confirming that the Scottish Government does not hold this information.

While we recognise that there may be some public interest in providing maps showing where set nets are prohibited, as we do not produce these, we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

However, I have included some information below that you may find helpful.

Information on areas where set nets and gillnets are restricted is available on National Marine Plan Interactive (NMPi) by searching for: Areas where fishing with GILLNETS is restricted. Other gear‑type layers are also available.

You may also find the Seafish Industry Authority Kingfisher Charts helpful for information on fishing restrictions.

Regarding The Inshore Fishing (Monofilament Gill Nets) (Scotland) Order 1996, details of the 6nm limit is available on the NMPI website (link above).

Finally, guidance is available on the Offshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing Methods) (Scotland) Order 2025, which includes a map, see link - Fisheries Management Measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas Coordinates and Restrictions.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. It is important to note that although we do not hold the information and have applied Regulation 10(4)(a) – information not held, it is a requirement that we have to apply the public interest test.

Wider guidance on the Environmental Information regime can be found in the Key Concepts section under ‘Information Not Held’ and ‘The Public Interest Test’ in the attached Scottish Information Commissioner Briefings and Guidance document. Further guidance on the public interest test can also be found on page 8 of the Scottish Information Commissioner guidance.

Question 9d

The appropriate legislation would be the Inshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing and Fishing Methods) (Scotland) Order 2015 and The Offshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing Methods) (Scotland) Order 2025.

I wish to highlight that only one Appropriate Assessment was required in relation to the above noted 2015 legislation, however, this assessment did not contain any set net prohibitions and subsequently would fall outwith the scope of your request.

The fisheries assessments carried out for the 2025 Order are available on the following website: Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): fisheries management measures.

As noted above, Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 also imposes restrictions on the use of set nets.

Question 9e

I can confirm that in response to this question there have been no decreases in the areas where fishing with any set nets has been prohibited.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202600506343 - Information released - Annex A

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