Economic Link licence condition: consultation

Annex A: Existing economic link licence condition

This condition applies to any vessel whose total landings of stocks subject to EC quotas, and which the vessel is licensed to retain on board during the period for which this licence is issued, amount to 2 tonnes or more in each of the periods [relevant annual periods].

The licence holder must ensure that there is a real economic link between the vessel to which this licence relates and the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, in so far as this link concerns only the connections between the fishing activities of the vessel and those communities which are dependent on fisheries and related industries.

The real economic link condition shall be deemed to have been complied with where any one of the following options is satisfied, during each of the periods specified above:

(a) at least 50 per cent by weight of the total landings of all stocks subject to EC quotas landed by the vessel, and which the vessel is licensed to retain on board, has been landed in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man; or,

(b) at least 50 per cent of the vessel's crew (measured by reference to the total number of crew-days at sea) is made up of persons who normally reside in UK coastal areas or the Channel Islands or Isle of Man; or,

(c) operating expenditure (excluding crews' wages) incurred in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for goods and services supplied in UK coastal areas or the Channel Islands or Isle of Man is equal to either at least 50 per cent of the vessel's operating expenditure (net of crews' wages) or at least 50 per cent of the value of landings of quota stocks by the vessel (net of crews' wages); or,

(d) the vessel owner achieves another arrangement which consists of:

(i) a combination of two or three of the above options (the minimum percentage chosen for any one option may be less than 50 per cent but the percentages chosen individually and in combination must genuinely provide a real economic link); or

(ii) criteria other than the above options which genuinely provide a real economic link; or

(iii) a combination of (i) and (ii) which genuinely provides a real economic link.

It is the responsibility of the licence holder to demonstrate compliance with whatever option has been chosen to the satisfaction of Fisheries Administrations. If the licence holder fails to comply with whatever option has been chosen by no more than 10 percentage points, Fisheries Administrations may, at their discretion, allow such shortfall to be met by adding the same number of percentage points to the option which the licence holder chooses to comply with in the following licence period. In such case, an Economic Link Notice of Variation will be issued to the licence holder in the following licence period to increase the percentage threshold requirements of the economic link condition by such percentage shortfall.