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IoM-UK Fisheries Management Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

A Fisheries Management Agreement (FMA) between the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom Fisheries Authorities was first entered into in 1991 as part of the extension of the Island’s territorial sea.

The other Crown Dependencies have their own, separate FMAs with the UK and Devolved Administrations.

During the first decade following the extension of the Island’s territorial sea (1991-2011), the Department was subject to the FMA1991, which required the Department to ensure that:

  • the management of fisheries in the extended territorial sea should be consistent with UK and EU Common Fisheries Policy (‘CFP’) legislation and procedures

  • any measures applied by the Isle of Man in the extended territorial sea were first approved by the UK Secretary of State

  • the 'rights' of fishermen from the UK generally, and the particular rights of fishermen from Belgium, France and the Republic of Ireland under the London Fisheries Convention 1964 (LFC1964), in relation to access was maintained

  • technical conservation measures should not discriminate between fishermen by reason of nationality

  • the restrictive licensing regime operated by the Isle of Man would be operated in parallel with that operated in the UK and

  • fish caught by UK or Isle of Man vessels within the Island’s territorial sea were counted against quota allocated to the UK under the EU CFP, and the licences issued by the Isle of Man would contain conditions and limitations equivalent to those contained in comparable UK licences (i.e. ‘quota limits’)

A new FMA was negotiated in conjunction with the Isle of Man Fisheries Bill (2010). The resulting Fisheries Management Agreement 2012 ‘FMA2012’ came into effect on the day upon which the Fisheries Act 2012 (of Tynwald) received Royal Assent, and was in effect from 2012 to 2023.

The most fundamental changes to the FMA2012 compared to FMA1991 included:

  • the reference to 'rights' of fishermen was removed, and replaced with a requirement to maintain 'fair access' for UK vessels in the Isle of Man territorial sea, and vice versa

  • the requirement for ‘approval’ from the UK for new measures in the extended territorial sea was replaced with a requirement to consult with the UK Fisheries Administrations through a specific engagement and evidence process.

Whilst the FMA2012 was an improvement compared to FMA1991 in some areas in that it facilitated a greater level of autonomy, it remained, principally, a document that ensured the Isle of Man 'agreed to keep the rules and laws relating to the regulation of fishing and the management and conservation of sea-fish and shellfish in the territorial sea consistent with the UK’s obligations under the EU CFP'.

The FMA2012 became critically out-of-date when the UK left the EU and withdrew from both the LFC1964 and the EU CFP; however, the Department continued to adhere to the principles of FMA2012 following the UK’s exit from the EU CFP to allow time for new arrangements to be established.

In November 2023, the Department and the four Fisheries Policy Authorities of the United Kingdom entered into a new arrangement in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (‘MoU’), which revokes and replaces all preceding Fisheries Management Agreements.

The MoU is a non-legally binding document that covers the following policy areas at a high level, reflecting both the constitutional autonomy of the Department and the UK’s status as an independent coastal state post-Brexit:

  • Context (the constitutional and legal arrangements relevant to fisheries management)
  • International Obligations
  • Fishing Opportunities (catch quota and effort quota for ‘international’ fish stocks)
  • Access and licensing of British fishing boats
  • Introducing new management measures
  • Emergency conservation measures

The MoU will be reviewed annually by the Department and the four UK Administrations. You can download the MoU in the ‘downloadable documents’ section on this page.

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