Cancellation of AOS status for Sea Fisheries statistics

Dear Ed,

Cancellation of the accredited official statistics status of Sea Fisheries Statistics

Following our correspondence in December 2024, I am writing to ask that you consider cancelling
the accredited official statistics status of the Marine Management Organisation’s (MMO’s) Sea
Fisheries Statistics (SFS) and associated publications to allow MMO to deliver the full
improvement programme to enable us to provide the quality service we determine to be
necessary.

Since the temporary suspension was agreed, we have been able to introduce several
enhancements to MMO published statistics, but there remain improvements that we would like to
implement. Achievements so far, include:

We published the Catch Recording Data Quality assessment, which led to an improvement in data quality for under 10m vessels in England, Wales and Isle of Man.
We have improved the layout and structure of the website, to simplify navigation and make it easier for users to find the statistics they need.
Work is ongoing to improve the efficiency and resilience of statistical production, increasing the use of reproducible analytical pipelines.
We have launched a user consultation about plans to consolidate the monthly statistical releases, bringing all information into a single publication.
Improvements were made to the presentation of trade section of the SFS 2024 release, improving clarity for users.

Further work required, include those specifically referenced in my earlier letter, such as
improvements to our fisherman’s survey, average price imputation methodology, documentation
and disclosure control policy, as well as other improvements I had identified at the time of writing.

The MMO are committed to making the improvements required to achieve the accredited official
statistics designation. However, we are not yet able to implement all the improvements necessary
to bring us in line with the standards set out in the Code of Practice in time for our next publication, SFS 2025. This is scheduled for publication in October 2026.

An area for improvement previously identified relates to gaps in the monthly sea fisheries statistics
release, in particular the omission of landings by Scottish vessels resulting from a problem with the Scottish Government’s fisheries management database. This leaves a significant volume of
Mackerel and Herring landings missing from the published provisional statistics, which is
highlighted in the user notes for the monthly releases.

Manual amendments are made to the annual SFS landings data, and to quota monitoring statistics
to mitigate any impacts on fishers or quota monitoring. But these amendments are not yet supplied in a way that is compatible with the monthly SFS.

This becomes more pertinent for users, as scientific advice for 2026 has reduced the total
allowable catch for Mackerel, and therefore allocated quota is lower. However, any changes in
fishing activity are not being fully reflected in the published provisional statistics because of the
missing data. We continue to engage with Scottish Government to understand how these data can
be better included in our monthly publication.

Given the delays to the improvements to the annual SFS release, and the additional interests
identified in the monthly statistics, I am asking you to consider a cancellation to the accredited
official statistics designation. This will allow the MMO to complete the full improvement programme and deliver a comprehensive suite of fisheries statistics at an appropriate quality. We will continue to engage with users and stakeholders.

Alongside this letter, the MMO has published its statistical plan for the next 12 months. This
outlines the upcoming improvement projects and fulfils a requirement of Code 3.0.

I am copying this letter to Ian Lonsdale, Head of Profession, Defra, Elysia McCaffrey, Chief
Executive Officer, MMO and Gareth Baynham-Hughes, Director Marine and Fisheries, Defra.

Yours sincerely,

Rebekah Paul

Head of Statistics & Analysis and Chief Statistician
Marine Management Organisation