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Fishing boat licensing

About the Jersey Fishing Boat Licence

To fish commercially in the Jersey Territorial Sea, Jersey and UK registered vessels must hold a Jersey Fishing Boat licence issued by the Department of the Environment.

The Jersey Fishing Boat licensing system is part of the British licensing system and operates under the reciprocal licensing arrangements of the Jersey / UK Fisheries Management Agreement.

In addition, to the Jersey Fishing Boat licence, owners and masters of Jersey registered fishing boats are required to hold:

  • the necessary safety training certification required by the Ports of Jersey
  • business and staffing licences from the Population office

Commercial fishing (Ports of Jersey website)

Population office

States of Jersey Fisheries and Marine Resources Facebook page

Applying for a Jersey Fishing Boat Licence

To apply, the vessel must:

  • be registered as a British Sea Fishing Boat
  • hold a valid Certificate of Registry issued by the relevant authority, ie the Jersey Ships Registry for J registered vessels or the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for UK registered vessels

Fishing licence entitlements

The vessel owner also needs to obtain suitable fishing licence entitlement(s) of sufficient engine power and tonnage to licence the vessel for the intended fishing activity.

Licence entitlements can be purchased on the open market anywhere in the UK. If you are considering purchasing a licence entitlement you are strongly advised to contact the Department before entering into any financial commitment, to ensure validity and that the entitlement(s) meet your needs. 

The Department can assist in completion of the forms to transfer licence entitlements.

UK licence application

Once the vessel is registered and the licence entitlement(s) transferred into the owner's name, a UK licence application can be made to the Marine Management Organisation's Plymouth office. Officers from this Department can assist with the application process.

When the UK licence is received an application can be made for an additional 'piggy back' Jersey Fishing Boat licence which authorises commercial fishing in the Jersey Territorial Sea.

Granville Bay access permit

This permit is required by vessels planning to fish in the Granville Bay area outside of the Jersey exclusive 3 mile limit.

Permits are only available to vessels based in Jersey and adjacent French ports within the Granville Bay area. 

British and French vessels from outside this area require a Track Record permit.

Jersey Fishing Boat Licence application form

Vessel licensing (Marine Management Organisation website)

Licence conditions

It is the responsibility of licence holders and skippers to ensure​ they are complying with their licence conditions.

Schedule 1: under and over 10 metre Jersey fishing boat licences

Schedule 2: 10 metre and under Jersey fishing boat licences

Schedule 2: over 10 metre Jersey fishing boat licences

Logbooks

All licence holders have to complete fishing logbooks. 

Under 10m vessels

Licence holders must submit quarterly catch returns using either their official Under 10m paper or online logbook. If you wish to use the online logbook contact the department where you will be given guidance and a pin number.

Online logbook

Schedule 3: under 10 metre logbook - procedures for completion

Under 10 metre online logbook instructions

10m - 12m vessels

Masters are required to complete a European Community fishing paper logbook. Log sheets must be submitted to the Department within 48 hours of landing.

Over 12m vessels

Masters should ensure that the relevant logbook is completed in accordance with the law.

Sea Fisheries (Jersey Law website)

Quotas

Jersey licenced vessels are required to fish to quotas applicable to British registered vessels fishing in sea area VIIE (Western English Channel). These quotas are published in the equivalent UK fishing licence annexe.  The most common quota species caught in Jersey waters include

  • sole
  • plaice
  • mackerel
  • pollock
  • skate and ray

It is the responsibility of both the licence holder and skipper to check the available quota. 

Under 10m vessels quota limitations (gov.uk website)

Over 10m vessels quota limitations (gov.uk website)

Instructions for looking up quota

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