AWARDED CONTRACT

1.1 Background to Fisheries Management Plans

1.1.1. The Fisheries Act (2020) places an obligation on Defra and the devolved administrations to prepare and publish Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) to help achieve Defra's ambition for sustainable fisheries. The Act describes an FMP as a document that sets out policies designed to restore one or more stocks of sea fish to, or maintain them at, sustainable levels.

1.1.2. Once a FMP is published, the Act places a duty on national fisheries authorities to exercise their functions in accordance with the policies set out in FMPs. The plans therefore place binding obligations onto the national fisheries authorities to seek to deliver the goals of each FMP.

1.1.3. Each FMP will be reviewed at least every six years to ensure that they remain effective, although fisheries policy authorities can carry out more frequent and regular reviews on policies within the plans when considered appropriate. The draft Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) included a list of proposed FMPs with a timetable for their publication. Defra are reviewing the responses to the JFS consultation, and a final list will be published by November 2022.

1.1.4. There are currently 43 planned FMPs:

- 21 are joint UK FMPs which will be jointly developed by all 4 UK administrations, with Scottish Government coordinating their preparation. - 2 FMPs coordinated by Northern Ireland published jointly with Welsh Government and Defra. - Defra will be publishing 16 FMPs.

1.1.5. FMPs will be a tool to implement wider policies and work on fisheries management, for example informing Defra's approach when negotiating the management of stocks shared with other coastal states.