• Home
• |
• About us
• |
• Access to information
• |
• Contacts
• |
• News and press
• |
• Recruitment
• |
• A to Z


•   

• Marine planning
• |
• Fisheries
• |
• Protecting the environment
• |
• Marine regulation and licensing

• Home
• >
• Fisheries
• >
• Monitoring and enforcement
• >
• Registered buyers and sellers

• Fisheries
• Apply for funding
• IFCAs
• Days at Sea
• Dispensations
• Monitoring and enforcement
  • Financial administrative penalties
  • Points system for serious infringements
  • Area closures
  • Designated ports
  • DNA testing
  • Electronic records
  • Fishing area maps
  • Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
  • National control action programmes
  • Net measurement procedures
  • Net Tagging Programme
  • Prosecutions
  • Registered buyers and sellers
    • Guidance on fish purchasing
  • Regulations and legislation
  • Satellite monitoring
  • Sharks, skates and rays
  • Shellfish data collection
• Quotas
• Statistics
• Vessel licences
• Sea Angling 2012
• Fishing Focus

Registered buyers and sellers

Do you buy first sale fish direct from a vessel or an agent, or sell first sale fish at an auction?

The Registration of Buyers and Sellers (RBS) Scheme has been fully operational in England since 2005 under the The Registration of Fish Buyers and Sellers and Designation of Fish Auction Sites Regulations 2005 (England).

The legislation requires that all buyers and sellers of first sale fish are registered and that all auction sites of first sale fish are designated. Registration and designation is free, application forms and guidance notes are available below.

Once registered, buyers and sellers are able to buy and/or sell first sale fish and must comply with the following rules on the provision of sales notes.

Registered buyers (individuals, partnerships, corporate bodies or companies) who buy fish direct from a vessel or an agent have to submit buyer’s sales notes to the local fisheries office within 48 hours (24 hours if electronic) of the sale taking place.

Registered sellers (those selling first sale fish by competitive bidding at a designated auction site) are required to complete a seller’s sales note and submit them to the local fisheries office within 48 hours (24 hours if electronic) of the sale taking place.

In addition, buyers and sellers are also required to keep records of each purchase and sale. These records shall be made available for inspection at all reasonable times. Records must be kept for a minimum of two years.

The purpose of the RBS Scheme was to:

• enable individuals or companies to become registered buyers and sellers of first sale fish, while allowing fisheries administrations to keep track of the actual amounts of fish species being sold
• improve the monitoring and control of landings of fish
• increase tractability of fish by ensuring that all landings are properly recorded and capable of verification.

The hope was that this would:

• ensure fairer fish prices for all
• allow restaurants and the like to obtain the freshest fish
• be able to trace this fish directly to vessels and stocks
• add to the other measures in place to conserve fish stocks.

More information from www.fishregister.gov.uk and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Application forms and guidance

Please note that although the guidance is intended to cover a broad range of information it is not exhaustive. For specific queries please contact your local Marine Management Organisation office or Operations and Enforcement on 0191 376 2638.