Division 7.1 Consultation dates

Informal pre-consultation on the proposed measures took place from to 9 June to 15 August 2013. Public consultation on these measures, as required under UK legislation took place from 10 September to 22 October 2013. Formal notification, as required by article 9 of Reg. 2371/2002 will be made by 18 November 2013.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) wrote to the fisheries authorities of France (Direction des pêches maritimes et de l'aquaculture, and Agence des aires marine protégées) and Belgium (Dienst Zeevisserij) on 7 June 2013 requesting the opportunity to discuss our proposals with authorities and fishing industry representatives.

A meeting was arranged on 12 July 2013 between MMO, Dienst Zeevisserij (the Belgian fisheries authorities), the Redescentrale (the Belgian Fish Producer Organisation) and other Belgian fishing industry representatives.

The French authorities responded to the MMO on 9 July 2013 suggesting a meeting in September. A meeting was arranged on 27 September 2013 between MMO, direction des pêches maritimes et de l'aquaculture (the French fisheries authorities), the Comité National des Pêches Maritimes et des élevages marins (CNPMEM: the French national fishing industry representatives) and several regional French fisheries representatives.

MMO wrote to the two RACs on 10 September 2013, inviting them to comment on the public consultation. Follow up phone calls to the secretariat of each RAC indicated that both RACs would not be making a consolidated response to the public consultation, but would pass the consultation details to their members to responds individually if they wished to.