Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency
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The Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) was an
Executive Agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or No ...
of the
Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
. On 1 April 2009, the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency and Fisheries Research Services were merged with the Scottish Government Marine Directorate to form
Marine Scotland The Scottish Government, Scottish Government's Marine Directorate () is a Directorates of the Scottish Government, directorate of the Scottish Government responsible for managing Scottish seas, Scotland's seas and freshwater fish, freshwater f ...
, part of the core Scottish Government. The SFPA was responsible for both deterring
illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes pl ...
in Scottish waters, as well as monitoring the compliance of the fisheries industry in Scotland with the relevant
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
and European Union laws on fisheries. The Agency had 18 Fishery Offices, a fleet of 3 Fishery Protection Vessels, and 2 aircraft for the purposes of monitoring and enforcement in the waters around
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. The letters "SF" that appeared in the Agency's ensign relate to the words "Sea Fisheries" as the agency was part of the UK Sea Fisheries Inspectorate (SFI).


History

The
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
has legislated for the protection and control of fisheries in the waters around the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
since the early 19th century. In the early 19th century, the Commissioners of the British White Herring Fishery were appointed, who had the power to detail naval vessels to superintend the
herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...
fisheries; officers of the fishery were appointed with particular emphasis on the certification of cured herring for export and for making the necessary brand on the barrel. Experience as a cooper – a maker of barrels – remained a qualification for Fishery Officers until as recently as 1939. In 1882, the Fishery Board for Scotland was established for the purposes of protecting sea fisheries in the waters around Scotland and land-based inspection of landed catches. By 1909, the Board's fleet included 5 steam vessels; at the outbreak of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the fleet had been increased to 8 vessels which included 2 small motor boats. The Board's responsibilities were transferred to the
Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...
in 1939. In April 1991, the Secretary of State for Scotland established the fisheries protection and enforcement services as an executive agency as part of the Government's Next Steps Initiative, which sought to devolve specific activities from central Government to free-standing organisations, headed by Chief Executives accountable to Ministers. Hence, the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency was established as an
executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or No ...
of the
Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the es ...
with the resources of 230 staff, 20 coastal offices, 6 protection vessels and 2 surveillance aircraft. Following
devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...
in Scotland, the agency transferred to the control of the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD).SFPA – Network Magazine Issue 34 (Retrieved 10 October 2008)
/ref> In 2007, the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
(SNP) changed the structure of the Scottish Executive (now known as the
Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
), and the SFPA became associated with the Director-General of the Environment. In April 2009, the SFPA officially ceased to exist, with its duties being absorbed into the newly established
Marine Scotland The Scottish Government, Scottish Government's Marine Directorate () is a Directorates of the Scottish Government, directorate of the Scottish Government responsible for managing Scottish seas, Scotland's seas and freshwater fish, freshwater f ...
.


Responsibilities

The SFPA was responsible for monitoring compliance and taking enforcement action, where necessary, to deter and detect illegitimate activities in the marine environment.


Resources


SFPA Headquarters

The Headquarters of the SFPA was located in Pentland House, Edinburgh. It housed the supporting arms of the Agency including Finance, Corporate Affairs, Human Resources, Training, Pay, Procurement and Health & Safety as well as the Prosecution & Enforcement Policy branch and the Marine Monitoring Centre (previously known as the HQ Operations).


Marine Monitoring Centre and UKFCC

The Marine Monitoring Centre was responsible for tasking SFPA assets, primarily FPVs and surveillance aircraft, to address the key priorities, which were determined using risk-based analysis. The Marine Monitoring Centre also acted as part of the UK Fisheries Monitoring Centre, maintaining and monitoring the VMS satellite tracking system of all fishing vessels in Scottish waters and Scottish fishing vessels globally. The MMC was manned 24/7. From 1 June 2005, the UK Fisheries Call Centre (UKFCC), based within the MMC, has been the single point of contact for all notification or reporting requirements from fishing vessels in UK waters, working of behalf of Marine Scotland Compliance, the Marine Fisheries Agency of England and
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
(MFA), and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
(DARNDI). The MMC & UKFCC had approximately 13 staff.


Staff

The SFPA employed 285 staff, in the following areas: Marine Surveillance – 134 Coastal Inspection – 124 Headquarters – 27 Although the SFPA owned two surveillance aircraft, the air crews were provided by a private Company on a contract basis. All staff employed directly by the SFPA were Civil Servants and subject to Civil Service terms and conditions of employment.


Coastal Inspection

The Marine staff were responsible for crewing the three Marine Protection Vessels, with each Vessel having two crews who operated on the basis of 3 weeks on duty followed by 3 weeks off duty. Further details of the Vessels and their crewing arrangements can be found in the 'Ships' page of this section of the website. Coastal Inspection The Coastal Inspection staff, who made up the Sea Fisheries Inspectorate, were split into two Areas – North / East and South / West – the split of Fishery Offices in each area is provided below: The main tasks for the Coastal SFI was to ensure the integrity of the Quota Management System and the enforcement of regulations on effort limitation, stock recovery programmes, VMS and the Registration of Buyers and Sellers act. This was accomplished by: * Inspections of catches in ports on board vessels, in fish markets and on landing for direct sale. * Weighing of whitefish catches as required by EU legislation, with catches sample weighed at the point of landing, on fish markets and at merchants’ premises. * Enforcing the timeous submission of logsheets and landing declarations in compliance with the EU and UK legislation and in the submission of salesnotes and buyers notes, in compliance with the legislation on the registration of sellers and buyers of sea fish. * Ensuring catches are accurately recorded against quota and that buyers and sellers are complying with the regulations. * Carrying out post landing investigations in cases where there is reason to suspect that catches were not accurately declared at the time of landing and sale. * Carrying out audit checks on registered buyers under protocols with the Marine Directorate. * Enforcing pelagic fisheries regulations by means of tank-dipping prior to landing, or verifying the weights of catches as they are landed through the approved and certified weighing systems.


Marine SFI

The Marine Sea Fisheries Inspectorate (SFI) consisted of a fleet of 4 Fishery Protection Vessels (FPVs) in service as of 2009. A fleet renewal programme to replace the ageing ''Sulisker'' type began in 2003 with the delivery of the first ''Minna'' type, followed by the ''Jura'' type in 2005. It was originally intended to upgrade the fleet to 3 ''Jura'' type vessels and 2 ''Minna'' type vessels, however the renewal programme was under review by the
Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
.Scottish Parliament Written Answers – Review of SFPA Fleet (Retrieved 10 October 2008)
/ref> Scottish FPVs are not military ships and are not armed. They used the prefix FPV, and fly the SFPA's
ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...
. Scottish FPVs were responsible for the inspection of fishing vessels at sea in Scottish waters and Scottish vessels in the waters of other member states. The high profile of the fleet at sea acted as a deterrent against illegal fishing and is pivotal to the information informing the Real Time Closure (RTC) scheme.Scottish Government – Real Time Closures (Retrieved 10 October 2008)
/ref> FPVs also contribute towards the UK's commitment to NEAFC,North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission – Home Page (Retrieved 10 October 2008)
/ref> with annual patrols in the NEAFC area west of
Rockall Rockall () is a high, uninhabitable granite islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is west of Soay, St Kilda, Scotland; northwest of Tory Island, Ireland; and south of Iceland. The nearest permanently inhabited place is North Uist, east in ...
. Historically, additional Fishery Protection Vessels were provided by the Fishery Protection Squadron of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
which was previously based at
Rosyth Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...
. In 1994, the Agency determined that this assistance was no longer required and the Fishery Protection Squadron was moved to Portsmouth as part of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR). From that time, all Fishery Protection operations in Scottish waters (with the exception of joint exercisesSFPA – Joining Forces in Europe (Retrieved 10 October 2008)
/ref>) were conducted by SFPA vessels. The Marine SFI had approximately 133 staff and had projected running costs of £9,421,000 for 2008–2009


Jura Type

The ''Jura''-type offshore patrol vessels were 84m in length with a
displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
of 2,200
tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000  kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...
. These vessels could stay on effective patrol for up to 30 days although the normal patrol length remains at 21 days. The first vessel of the type, FPV ''Jura'', was constructed by
Ferguson Shipbuilders Ferguson may refer to: Places Australia * Ferguson, Western Australia, a locality in the Shire of Dardanup Canada * Ferguson, British Columbia * Mount Ferguson (Ontario), a mountain in Temagami, Ontario * Ferguson Highway, in Northern Ontario * ...
of
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, joining the fleet in March 2006. An earlier FPV ''Jura'' was built in 1973 by Hall Russell of Aberdeen, Scotland. Her success on loan to the Royal Navy as HMS ''Jura'' led to the building of a further seven Island-class patrol vessels. In the tendering for the next two ''Jura''-type vessels, the
Scottish Executive The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in t ...
awarded the contract to a Polish shipbuilder rather than Fergusons, sparking strong criticism from the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
. FPV ''Hirta'', was constructed in Remontowa Shipyard, Poland, and launched on 17 August 2007. The vessel joined the fleet in May 2008. Plans to build a third vessel were postponed.


Minna Type

The ''Minna'' type were inshore/offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of 781 tonnes and a maximum speed of 14 knots. Vessels of this type can also spend up to 21 days on patrol. There was only one vessel of this type, FPV ''Minna'' constructed by Ferguson Shipbuilders and launched in 2003. In May 2006, the vessel replacement programme was delayed, when the SFPA was forced to suspend the tender process for a second ''Minna'' type vessel after it was found that the process was in breach of EU procurement rules. A subsequent tender exercise using consultancy resources rather than Scottish Executive personnel to carry out the procurement activities commenced in early 2007, but was postponed following the May 2007 Scottish Elections and the rise to power of the Scottish National Party. The current ''Minna'' was the third FPV to bear the name (named after a character in
Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
's novel ''The Pirate''). Previous vessels of this name served between 1901–1939 and 1939–1974.


Historical Types

The ''Sulisker'' type were offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of 1,365 tonnes and a maximum speed of 18
knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot or knots may also refer to: Other common meanings * Knot (unit), of speed * Knot (wood), a timber imperfection Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Knots'' (film), a 2004 film * ''Kn ...
. They could spend up to 21 days on patrol. The first of the type, FPV ''Sulisker'' was launched in 1980, decommissioned late 2006 and is currently undergoing conversion to a luxury yacht in
Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...
. FPV ''Vigilant'', launched in 1982, was decommissioned in Spring 2008. As of March 2023, Vigilant was re-named John Paul DeJoria II and operated by
Neptune's Navy Neptune's Navy is the name that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society uses to refer to the ships it operates. The Sea Shepherd vessels (Neptune’s Navy) are used to disrupt or hinder illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), whaling o ...
. The last of this type in service was FPV ''Norna'' which was launched in 1987 and paid off in October 2010. The last of the ''
Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
'' type, FPV ''Westra'' was launched in 1975 and decommissioned in 2003. The vessel was purchased by
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action t ...
in 2006 and was renamed MY ''Robert Hunter'' in memory of one of the two founding members of Greenpeace. The vessel has since been renamed MY ''Steve Irwin'' after the death of the famous conservationist TV personality. The Steve Irwin has become a popularly recognised ship due to the Animal Planet television programme '' Whale Wars'' which documents the work of Sea Shepherd including their use of the vessel. The Island type were offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of 1,017 tonnes and a maximum speed of 16.5
knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot or knots may also refer to: Other common meanings * Knot (unit), of speed * Knot (wood), a timber imperfection Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Knots'' (film), a 2004 film * ''Kn ...
. In contrast to the more modern vessel types, the Island type could only remain on patrol for 16–18 days.


Aerial Surveillance

The SFPA also had two surveillance aircraft, both Reims Vigilant F-406, based at
Inverness Airport Inverness Airport () is an international airport situated at Dalcross, Scotland, north-east of Inverness. It is owned by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL). The airport is the main gateway for travellers to Inverness and the Nor ...
. The aircraft are operated by Directflight under contract. The main tasks of the aerial surveillance aircraft are to: * Validate the UK VMS system * Monitor the activities of fishing vessels not equipped with VMS (less than 15m length) * Patrol the increasing number of sea areas closed to fishing operations either to protect fish stocks or the habitats contained within an area. * Monitor fishing activities in the international waters adjacent to UK fishery limits and under the control of NEAFC, particular to detect and deter IUU fishing. In 2010, the aircraft were out of service for 6 weeks due to "documentation issues"


See also

*
Marine and Fisheries Agency The Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA) was an executive agency of the British government, founded on 1 October 2005, that controlled sea fishing in seas around England and Wales. Responsibilities included enforcement of sea fisheries legislation, l ...
of England and Wales *
Marine Scotland The Scottish Government, Scottish Government's Marine Directorate () is a Directorates of the Scottish Government, directorate of the Scottish Government responsible for managing Scottish seas, Scotland's seas and freshwater fish, freshwater f ...


Notes and references


External links

*
Marine Scotland The Scottish Government, Scottish Government's Marine Directorate () is a Directorates of the Scottish Government, directorate of the Scottish Government responsible for managing Scottish seas, Scotland's seas and freshwater fish, freshwater f ...

Marine Scotland Compliance

SFPA homepage
{{Authority control Defunct bodies of the Scottish government Fishing in Scotland Nature conservation in Scotland Environment of Scotland Law enforcement agencies of Scotland 1811 establishments in Scotland Government agencies established in 1811 Fisheries protection