Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will request that the Marine Management Organisation review catch limits for skate and ray for vessels under 10 metres calculated using data from January 2014, when persistent bad weather prevented smaller fishing vessels putting to sea.
Monthly catch limits for 2015 were informed by landings data from the three year period 2012-2014. The Government secured a rollover of the 2014 skate and ray quota for 2015, meaning that fishermen will not see a reduction in the volume of fish they may catch this year. The Marine Management Organisation is holding a meeting with key industry representatives in the South West on 21st January to discuss and seek input to quota management in this region in 2015.