The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has issued new details on sample weighing of standardised boxes of demersal fish stocks.
Sample weighing uses a representative sample of fishery products to determine the total weight of a species landed, reducing the volume of boxes that need to be weighed.
An updated information notice issued by the SFA details the procedure for calculating sample sizes and conducting sample weighing.
Stock risk assessments are used to determine the number of boxes to be sample weighed per fleet segment and fishing area, it explains.
Stock risk assessments are updated annually and are available on the SFPA website.
Only certain demersal species landed in standardised boxes qualify for sample weighing under Ireland’s national “control and sampling plans,” the SFPA says.
Products stored and transported in bulk cannot be sample weighed and must be weighed in full - these include lobster, crayfish, crab species, whelk, and molluscs, it says.
“Operators that carry out sample weighing should familiarise themselves with the fisheries information notice,” it says.
“The SFPA is committed to supporting compliance with both new and existing legislation and are available to provide guidance,” it says.
The FIN can be accessed on sfpa.ie and by clicking this link
Stock risk assessments are available on the SFPA website at the following link.
