The UK’s obligations under the Cod Recovery Plan require that action should be taken to ensure effort limits are not exceeded. Defra’s action will help to reduce the scale of any breach of the UK total days at sea allocation.
If the UK does exceed its effort for 2009/10, the European Commission will apply an appropriate penalty, which at the very least, will be to reduce the available 2010/11 effort by the same amount as it was exceeded.
The UK has been allocated a total UK effort for 2009/10 for each gear type in each sea area. Each eligible fisherman is allocated a share of that effort, which translates into a total number of days at sea. The overall UK effort is managed by English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish fisheries administrations.
efra’s latest monitoring returns indicate that the UK is expected to exceed its total UK effort for 2009/10 before the end of the scheme year. As the competent authority, Defra has a legal obligation to comply with the terms of the Cod Recovery Plan.
