Manage your fishing effort: Western Waters crabs and scallops
Source: gov.uk (2025-10-13)

All references to Area VII are to Area VII within British Fishery Limits only. Details of the approach to managing the over 15 metre Area VII crab and scallop fishing sector to keep the fishery within UK effort limits.

Western Water crabs

Western Waters (ICES Area VII) 2025 edible and Spider Crab effort annual limit

Industry and administrations have agreed that days at sea limits will be set for vessels operating in this area for the full 2025 year. This will be enforced via a licence variation. The limit set out below will be applicable to all over 15 metre vessels with a shellfish entitlement operating in area VII and targeting crabs under the Western Waters regime.

The MMO will actively monitor days at sea uptake by vessels and review discussions will take place later in 2025 to evaluate uptake to date and discuss the management approach for the remainder of 2025.

If the UK looks like it will exceed effort limits prior to 31 December 2025 as set by the MMO, then fisheries administrations will be required to close the area VII crab fishery to over 15 metre vessels for the remainder of the year in line with the Western Waters regime.

Effort use statistics is available here (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/effort-use-statistics)

The allocation of days from 00.01 hours on 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 is 220 days.

Scope

The Western Waters Days at Sea scheme detailed below applies to UK fishing vessels, 15 metre and over in length, fishing for Edible/Brown Crab (Cancer pagurus) and spider crab (Maja squinado) in International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Area VII.

Days at Sea Limits

The maximum number of days a vessel can fish for crabs in ICES Area VII is established in the vessel’s fishing licence.

Any days remaining at the end of a management period will not be transferred across management periods. Days at sea are not transferrable between fishing vessels.

The number of days spent at sea will be monitored for enforcement purposes by MMO/Devolved Administration offices. However, it is your responsibility to monitor your uptake and be aware of how many days you have available. If you wish to check the information held by the MMO on your vessel’s activity you should contact your local MMO coastal office.

It is an offence to exceed the maximum number of days at sea established in your vessel’s fishing licence, and action may be taken in accordance the relevant fisheries administration’s compliance and enforcement strategy. The effort limit is an annual limit and is set in consultation with the vessels active in the fishery, with the aim of maximising uptake of available effort. For 2025 the annual limit will be reviewed throughout the year, and will be increased if fleet size and activity levels permit.

Recording of days at sea

Days at sea are counted in calendar days (midnight to midnight) or part thereof. For example a fishing trip leaving port at 0200h and returning to port at 0100h the following day counts as two calendar days. In comparison, a fishing trip leaving port at 1000h and returning at 1700h the following day is also counted as 2 calendar days.

Trip data must be recorded in UTC (universal time constant) with no daylight saving adjustment.

Steaming trips are not counted against a vessel’s days at sea providing that no gear is deployed or hauled, no landings are made and vessel activity is declared as ‘CRU – steaming/cruising’ on the electronic logbook.

Time at sea will not count against a vessel’s allocation where it comes to the aid of another vessel in need of emergency assistance or because it is transporting an injured person for emergency medical aid. You must advise your port of administration in such cases.

Western Water Scallops

Once your allocation of days are used

Any vessel that has exhausted its allocation of days must cease fishing for scallops in Area VII immediately and return to port. The vessel may then undertake other activities.

The allocation of days from 00.01 hours on 01 October – 31 December 2025 is 85 days.

2025

Days at sea

The Western Waters Days at Sea scheme detailed below applies to UK fishing vessels, 15 metres and over in length, fishing for either king (Pecten Maximus) or queen scallops (Aequipecten opercularis) in ICES Area VII.

Quarterly Days at Sea Limits

Any days remaining at the end of a management period will not be transferred across management periods.

Days at sea are not transferrable between fishing vessels.

The number of days spent at sea will be monitored for enforcement purposes by MMO/Devolved Administration offices. However, it is your responsibility to monitor your uptake and be aware of how many days you have available. If you wish to check the information held by the MMO on your vessels activity you should contact your local MMO coastal office.

It is an offence to exceed the maximum number of days at sea established in the vessels’ fishing licence and action may be taken in accordance with the relevant fisheries administration’s compliance and enforcement strategy.

Recording of days at sea

Days at sea are counted in calendar days (midnight to midnight) or part thereof. For example a fishing trip leaving port at 0200h and returning to port at 0100h the following day counts as two calendar days. In comparison, a fishing trip leaving port at 1000h and returning at 1700h the following day is also counted as two calendar days. Trip data must be recorded in UTC (universal time constant) with no daylight saving adjustment.

Steaming trips are not counted against a vessel’s days at sea providing that no gear is deployed or hauled, no landings are made and vessel activity is declared as ‘CRU – steaming/cruising’ on the electronic logbook. Time at sea will not count against a vessels allocation where it comes to the aid of another vessel in need of emergency assistance or because it is transporting an injured person for emergency medical aid. You must advise your port of administration in such cases.

Once your allocation of days are used

Any vessel that has exhausted its allocation of days must cease fishing for scallops in Area VII immediately and return to port. The vessel may then undertake other activities.

Further information

How to inspect your fishing gear and make sure your time at sea is not counted against your effort Skippers or owners are required to notify their local coastal office if they intend to go to sea to inspect their fishing gear.

On electronic logbooks, these trips should be coded with a departure message of ‘Other’ (OTH), with a comment stating that you are going to inspect your fishing gear. This will allow MMO to make vessel monitoring system data with gear inspections consistent with one another.

No landings must be made during these trips. This will ensure that we do not include these trips in effort uptake calculations.

Guidance on how to de-rate your engine (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/engine-power-monitoring-and-testing/if-your-vessels-engine-exceeds-its-declared-power)

Guidance on engine power monitoring and testing programme (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/engine-power-monitoring-and-testing)