Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to hold discussion with the fishing community on the redesign or replacement of the under-10m CatchApp.

The catch recording application was introduced as the best solution to capture recorded landings for the under 10 metre fishing fleet. The app has undergone extensive user research and testing involving representatives from the fishing industry. 77% of those invited to register have already done so, submitting over 27,000 records through the application to date. Since January 2020, an average 936 records have been successfully submitted through the application each week by vessels registered in England.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has clarified publicly in updates published on 10 and 26 February 2020 that there would be further time for those within the fishing industry to adjust to the introduction of the new catch recording application.

In addition to continued one-to-one support from coastal offices, the MMO has held over 15 drop-in sessions around the country earlier this year to support the fishing industry with the continued roll out. The MMO continues to work on implementing improvements to the catch recording app based on feedback from existing users. Some of the improvements already implemented include the addition of further ports and species to the app and making it possible to record weights less than 1kg.

The MMO are continuing to work with industry to improve the service, in terms of its functionality and utility. The MMO remain committed to continuing to listen to and support the fishing community in adapting to this new requirement, making changes to the system where necessary.