Policy background Fisheries management in the UK Quota distribution
Following agreement at December Council on the level of TACs, Defra allocates shares of the UK’s quotas to each of the UK’s four Fisheries Administrations. Allocations have been based on Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) units and arrangements for allocating and transferring quota are set out in the Concordat between the Fisheries Administrations (Concordat on management arrangements for fishing quotas and licensing in the UK and in the Quota Management Rules (Rules for the management of the UK's fisheries quotas in areas I, II, IV, VI and VI (and associated areas) and in Faroese waters (Vb)). Each unit entitles the FQA holder to a specific percentage share of UK quota for a given stock. FQAs were allocated to vessel owners in 1999 based on historical fishing track records.
	The fishing industry is divided into two categories for the purposes of distributing fishing opportunities:
	the "sector", which is comprised of boats over 10 metres in length that are members of Producer Organisations (POs) (see below). POs manage the quota received on behalf of their members. Most over 10 metre boats are members of POs in the UK; and
	the "non-sector", which is comprised of over 10 metre and under-10 metre boats that are not members of POs. Their quota is managed by each fisheries administration using a shared pool system. For England, these pools are managed by the MMO, who issue monthly allocations of quota and, based on the level of catches recorded, the MMO will make decisions on whether the levels of quota allocated each month need to be changed.
	Some quota is allocated outside of the FQA system to support certain policy objectives. For example, in England the under-10 metre fleet’s allocation is adjusted to guarantee a minimum share in certain stocks.