Margin of Tolerance: The Accuracy of Onboard Catch Estimates

There was a general concern within UK fishing industry groups regarding the ability of their members to apply the EU-prescribed limit of 8% tolerance between catch estimates recorded and declared on board and those from landings declarations of  verified on landing by inspections for certain fish stocks. The basis of this report was  therefore to investigate whether the 8% margin is in fact attainable under ‘at sea’ conditions.