Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what quantity of fish can be landed without being required to be reported or recorded by the Marine Management Organisation, if those fish have been caught by recreational anglers or by unlicensed fishermen and are not sold.

The requirement to report fish caught to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) only applies to licenced commercial fishing vessel owners.

Recreational sea anglers can fish for most finfish and shellfish species unrestricted and without the need to report catches to the MMO. However, recreational sea anglers are obliged to comply with EU minimum landing sizes and catch limits for certain species, for example those currently set under EU regulations for bass.

A voluntary option for recreational sea angling catch reporting is available, via the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science managed Sea Angling diary: www.seaangling.org.