Fees are payable for different types of project based on the time it takes the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science to process the application.

An MMO case manager will notify you of the suitable fee band for your application. This can be changed if new information about your project makes a different band more suitable. If your application is moved to a different band, MMO will seek your agreement before doing any further work.

Where an application is to carry out more than 1 licensable activity and they fall in different fee bands, the higher fee band is payable.

For example, an application to dredge material and dispose of it at sea includes a band 3 project (dredging) and a band 2 project (disposal – if fewer than 1 million cubic metres), so the fees applied to the application will be band 3.

From 1 October 2014 you will also be charged a fee for any new licence variation or post-consent work, even if the licence was issued before this date.

Further information

See how to get a licence for a burial at sea.

Contact information

Marine Licensing Team

0300 123 1032

marine.consents@marinemanagement.org.uk

Please complete the dispensation request form and submit it to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). We aim to make a decision on most applications within 20 working days, however, each application is different and some applications will take longer than this if we are required to consult with other regulatory bodies.

Dispensation request form

PDF, 152KB, 4 pages

You must notify the MMO if your research is not being carried out on a licensed fishing vessel. An email stating the vessel name, dates of the survey, type of survey and equipment used should be sent to dispensationrequests@marinemanagement.org.uk

Examples of activities that require a dispensation include:

• using undersized nets or modified trawls
• catching and keeping on board undersized fish species
• fishing beyond set effort management limits (days at sea)
• catching and landing fish over a vessel’s catch limits – MMO may be able to provide extra quota to licensed fishing vessels involved in research
• catching and landing fish stocks for which a vessel has no quota allocation

2% of quota allocated to England is in principle available for scientific dispensations. For any quota requests made by applicants for dispensations the MMO will determine whether the quota can be granted based on the context of the application and the availability of the specific quotas.

Licensing and consenting requirements

You may require additional licenses and consents to carry out your proposed research. This is relevant regardless of which type of vessel you are using, and whether you require a fisheries dispensation.

Protected species

A marine wildlife licence is required by anyone who wishes to carry out an activity in the English marine area or the Welsh offshore area that is prohibited under nature conservation legislation where the activity cannot be sufficiently mitigated against.

Marine licensing requirements

Work within the dispensation application may also require a marine licence or application for an exemption. It is the applicants responsibility to ensure that they have all relevant licences in place before they start any survey. Information on the application process and list of licensable activities is available.

Marine Protected Areas (MPA)

The MMO is responsible for making byelaws in English inshore waters to protect European Marine Sites (EMS) and Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) from activities that may harm them; these may be commercial and/or recreational. MMO byelaws must help to further the conservation objectives of the site.

You may be required to comply with these byelaws and, unless stated, the derogation does not allow you to operate where it is not permitted within the sites.

Your dispensation application will ask you to provide details of any marine protected area you may be operating in. A map and details of all marine protected areas can be found on the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) website.

Foreign vessels engaged in research or UK vessels which do not complete a dispensation application are encouraged to complete a voluntary notification form if the survey will take place within or close to an MPA.

MPA activity – Voluntary notification form

Other authority consents

You may also require consent or approval from other bodies before you are able to carry out the work that the dispensation applies to.

Local byelaws are the responsibility of the local Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA). You should familiarise yourself with the IFCA byelaws in your research area and contact your local IFCA if necessary.

If your research involves salmon, eels, elvers, lamprey, sea trout, smelt or crayfish the Environment Agency should also be contacted to discuss your research.

If your research involves work within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) Natural England should be contacted to discuss the research application.

Further information

For research in other UK waters, dispensations will be issued by:

• Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
• Marine Scotland
• Welsh Government

Under international law, all states have the right to conduct marine science research subject to the rights and duties of other States. The Marine Science Research (MSR) webpage contains application forms and guidance.

The UK Government has a target to protect habitats and species in our seas. Foreign vessels engaged in research are encouraged to complete a voluntary notification form.

Voluntary notification form

PDF, 69.9KB, 3 pages

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Contact information

Marine Conservation Team

To discuss fisheries dispensations, wildlife licensing and Marine Protected Areas.

Telephone: 0300 123 1032

dispensationrequests@marinemanagement.org.uk

Fisheries Management Team

Telephone: 0300 123 1032

fmc@marinemanagement.org.uk

Marine Licensing Team

To discuss sampling and sediment analysis.

Telephone: 0300 123 1032

marine.consents@marinemanagement.org.uk

Marine Conservation and Enforcement Team

To discuss wildlife licensing and Marine Protected Areas.

Telephone: 0300 123 1032

conservation@marinemanagement.org.uk

There is an archived version of the register that includes details of more applications.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is involved in different nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) in the English inshore and offshore, and Welsh offshore areas under the Planning Act 2008. The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) examine these applications and provide recommendations to the Secretary of State.

MMO acts as a:

• statutory consultee during the pre-application stage
• interested party during the examination stage
• licensing and consenting body

If a development consent order (DCO) is granted, MMO is responsible for enforcing, post-consent monitoring, varying, suspending, and revoking any deemed marine licence(s) as part of the DCO.

Variation of a deemed marine licence (DML)

The MMO is able to vary a DML in accordance with section 72 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. Requests to vary a DML should be submitted in writing to MMO and should include:

• a cover letter
• detail of the proposed change(s) to the DML
• a supporting summary statement detailing why the proposed variation is permissible with reference to the original application and in consideration of any implications for the existing DCO
• any additional supporting information required.

Variations to DMLs are chargeable and further guidance on fees is available.

Further information

The National Policy Statement for Ports provides the framework for decisions taken by the Secretary of State.

The 6 National Policy Statements for Energy Infrastructure apply to NSIPs in England and Wales, including territorial waters and to any offshore renewable energy zone.

This is a National Statistics publication.

The monthly landings statistics will be released at 9.30am on the 4th Friday of each month, or the next working day if this is a bank holiday.

The Marine Management Organisation follows all Defra statistical policies.

You can access historic monthly statistics from the national archives or from the 2008 to 2013 spreadsheet.