West of Scotland Greater Silver Smelt Fisheries Management Plan

Footnotes

1 The Fisheries Act 2020 defines Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) as ‘the highest theoretical equilibrium yield that can be continuously taken on average from a marine stock under existing environmental conditions without significantly affecting the reproduction process

2 UK Government (2022) Joint Fisheries Statement. The updated timetables are set out in the updated Annex A (amended December 2024)

3 The definition for an “authority” is given in Annex A (p. 55) of the JFS, which is: “Authority or Authorities responsible for preparation and publication of plan: The authority or authorities which are responsible for preparing and publishing the plan. There can be up to four fisheries policy authorities acting jointly in a plan.”.

4 The definition for a “co-ordinating authority” is given in Annex A (p. 55) of the JFS, which is:- “Coordinating Authority: The fisheries policy authority which will coordinate the preparation and management of the plan on behalf of the other fisheries policy authorities acting jointly”.

5 ICES Working group on the biology and assessment of deep-sea fisheries resources (WGDEEP 2026)

6 Distribution, population structure, growth, and reproduction of the greater silver smelt, Argentina silus (Pisces, Argentinidae), of the Skagerrak and the north-eastern North Sea

7 https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.27051358

8 Seafish: UK Economic Fleet Estimates and Fleet Enquiry Tool

9 ICES. 2026 Greater silver smelt (Argentina silus) in divisions 5.b and 6.a (Faroes grounds and west of Scotland)Item - Greater silver smelt (Argentina silus) in divisions 5.b and 6.a (Faroes grounds and West of Scotland) - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea - Figshare

10 Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2024) UK Quota Management Rules.

11 Separate quota management rules are set by the Scottish Government, Defra and DAERA.

12 The majority of the technical measures applying to fishing vessels are set out under the Common Fisheries Policy legislation which was passed by the European Parliament in 2013, updated in 2019, and assimilated into UK law on the UK’s exit from the EU. This link provides details of the assimilated UK law.

13 the Landing Obligation is set out in Article 15 of the assimilated EU law Regulation number 1380/2013 This can be accessed on legislation.gov.uk here. Note, subsequent exemptions under the grounds of de minimis or high survivability are set out in supporting EU delegated Acts and UK statutory instruments.

14 UK Government (2024) Technical Conservation and Landing Obligation rules and regulations from 2022 onwards.

15 Detailed Nature Conservation Advice from NatureScot and JNCC for Pelagic FMPs

16 Priority Marine Features in Scotland's seas - The List | NatureScot

17 The UK bycatch monitoring programme (‘the BMP’) places dedicated sensitive species bycatch observers on pelagic trawl and purse seine vessels. In 2022 the BMP conducted monitoring for 15 days at sea in the midwater trawl fishery and 35 days at sea in seine fisheries. No marine mammal or seabird bycatch was recorded in these gears. Several instances of elasmobranch and fish bycatch were recorded. Microsoft Word - 2022 BMP Annual Report

18 Supporting documents - Marine litter strategy - gov.scot

19 This section is not part of the original conservation advice and provides information on the policy context in which the FMPs are nested.

20 Fisheries Management Plan

21 Changing fish distributions challenge the effective management of European Fisheries

22 Climate change projections of commercial fish distribution and suitable habitat around north western Europe

23 On distributional responses of North Atlantic fish to climate change

24 Warming shelf seas drive the subtropicalization of European pelagic fish communities

25 AZTI, 2023: Species acclimatization pathways: Latitudinal shifts and timing adjustments to track ocean warming

26 Technical report - Greater silver smelt - Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Iceland

27 MCCIP Oxygen update Aug 2025

28 Carbon emissions in UK fisheries: recent trends, current levels, and pathways to Net Zero

29 Emissions report for Norwegian fisheries and aquaculture industries at sea - SINTEF

30 Norwegian figures are generally reported as CO₂ emissions from fisheries fuel use and come from Norwegian fisheries and national statistics sources using different methodologies

31 Supplementary Tables - Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 2024 - gov.scot

32 Assessing the sustainability of fisheries catch limits negotiated by the UK for 2026