Excess catch

When catch is recorded on the harbor scale, the quantity is compared with the vessel's margin of quota. If a vessel does not have catch quota for the catch, it will go into deficit (going red). 

A vessel involved in excess catch has four working days to adjust the situation, if the deficit is not mended within that time, the fishing permit may be suspended.

Fishing may not be carried out for commercial purposes after a vessel has gone into a deficit up to the time the deficit has been corrected. A vessel may also not commence fishing unless it has a sufficient catch quota for the likely catch. 

It is possible to monitor the catch quota position of individual vessels on the Directorate’s dashboard and the fishing companies can also request that excess catch notifications be sent by e-mail. 

Excess catch in coastal fishing

It is allowed to land up to 650 kg of gutted catch in cod-equivalent after each fishing trip.
If the catch exceeds that quantity, it is referred to as excess catch in coastal fishing.

• Surplus catches from coastal fisheries are subject to a special fee based on the average price of catches at the time of fishing. 

• The fee is collected after each month and shall be paid to the Fisheries Project Fund. 

• All catches caught in coastal fishing are deducted from the quantity allocated to coastal fisheries. 

An exception to this is saithe landed in coastal fishing and marked separately as VS catch. The catch must be landed and sold in an approved fish market and the fishing company receives 80% of the value of the saithe.