North Sea Horse Mackerel Fisheries Management Plan

Glossary

Acoustic survey - A scientific survey method that uses sound waves to estimate the abundance and distribution of fish stocks

Biomass -The total weight of a fish stock or population within a given area

Bycatch - Fish or other marine species that are caught unintentionally while targeting another species

Bycatch-only fishery - A fishery in which a species may only be landed when caught incidentally while targeting other species

Coastal State - A country with rights and responsibilities for managing marine resources within waters under its jurisdiction

Directed fishery - A fishery that actively targets a particular stock or species

Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) - An approach to fisheries management that takes account of interactions between species, habitats and wider ecosystem processes

Evidence-based management - Management decisions informed by the best available scientific, economic and stakeholder evidence

Fishing mortality - The proportion of a fish stock removed through fishing activity

Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) - A statutory plan prepared under the Fisheries Act 2020 setting out policies and actions to achieve sustainable fisheries management

Good Environmental Status (GES) - The environmental condition that the UK Marine Strategy seeks to achieve for marine waters.

Horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) - A pelagic fish species found throughout the Northeast Atlantic and managed under this FMP

Landing Obligation - A requirement that catches of quota species must generally be landed and counted against quota, subject to specific exemptions

Marine Protected Area (MPA) - A designated area where management measures are used to conserve marine species, habitats or ecological features

Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) - The highest long-term average catch that can be taken from a fish stock without reducing its future productivity

Mixing - The occurrence of fish from different biological stocks occupying the same area and potentially being caught together

Pelagic fishery - A fishery targeting species that live in the water column rather than on or close to the seabed

Precautionary approach - An approach to management that takes action to reduce risks even where scientific uncertainty exists

Priority Marine Feature (PMF) - A marine species, habitat or geological feature identified as a conservation priority in Scottish waters

Quota - A share of a Total Allowable Catch allocated to a country, administration, licence holder or vessel

Recruitment - The process by which young fish survive and enter the fishable stock

Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) - The use of cameras and sensors on vessels to record fishing activities and catches

Shared stock - A fish stock that occurs in waters managed by more than one state or fisheries authority

Shoal - A large group of fish swimming together

Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB) - The total weight of sexually mature fish within a stock

Stock assessment - A scientific evaluation of the status of a fish stock, including its abundance, fishing mortality and sustainability

Sustainability objective - The Fisheries Act 2020 objective requiring fish stocks to be exploited in a way that is environmentally sustainable in the long term

Total Allowable Catch (TAC) -The maximum quantity of a stock that can be caught over a specified period, usually one year

Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) - A satellite-based system used by fisheries authorities to monitor vessel position and activity

Western horse mackerel stock -Biological stock of horse mackerel occurring across ICES areas 2a, 3a, 4a, 5b, 6a, 7 and 8 and managed under a separate TAC area

SCNS and Eastern Channel horse mackerel stock - Biological stock of horse mackerel found in the southern and central North Sea (ICES 4b-c) and eastern English Channel (ICES 7d)