NEW measures to harmonise and simplify fisheries enforcement at sea for fishing vessels over 10 metres have come into force with the start of the New Year.
The Marine and Fisheries Agency says that skippers are now legally required to use new multiplying factor tables to convert the weight of fish they have caught and gutted or processed in some way into "live weight" to record in their log books.
The measure, says the MFA, should iron out anomalies which can occur when fishing vessels are boarded by enforcement officers from member states which currently use different conversion factors.Both quota allocations and quota uptake is measured in "live weight" so scientists can assess the state of the stocks.New conversion factors apply to main species including: anglerfish, brill, cod, hake, haddock, lemon sole, ling, megrim, plaice, pollack, sole, whiting and witch.
To convert, for example, cod to "‘live weight", a skipper would multiply every kilo of head on and gutted fish he has caught by 1.17. To calculate "live weight" for every kilo of fillets he would multiply by 2.6. The new conversion factors will replace those currently on the fishing vessel licence.
However, fish landed by those in the English under 10-metre fleet who do not complete log books will be converted to "live weight" by the MFA applying the new conversion factors to "landed weight" figures supplied by fish merchants and auctioneers at sales points. The new measures were introduced in by an EU Commission Regulation agreed and first announced in May last year.
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