Agriculture & Farming

Set up and run a safe fishing or aquaculture business

Whether you operate a fishing vessel, run a fish farm or harvest shellfish, you have shore-based duties that apply across the board. This is the universal spine for division 03. It takes you through your general health and safety duty for premises and shore-based operations, fire safety for hatcheries, processing sheds, net stores and offices, employers' liability insurance, equality and data protection.

UK-wide
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UK-wide

Related guides in Compliance & Legal

Fishing and aquaculture covers a wide range of operations — trawlers, potters, netters, shellfish farms, finfish cage sites, land-based hatcheries and recirculating aquaculture systems. Whatever you do, you have shore-based duties that apply before you get to the sector-specific licensing. Get this spine in place first, then layer the vessel duties or aquaculture consenting on top.

Health and safety law for shore-based operations is largely devolved. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the regulator in Great Britain and the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) in Northern Ireland; the underlying duties are equivalent across the UK. Crew safety at sea is regulated separately by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 — that is covered in the sea fishing vessel guide, not here. Work through the sections below in order.

A. Meet your general health and safety duty

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the foundation for your shore-based operations. You must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of your employees and of anyone else affected by your work. In a fishing or aquaculture business that means risk-assessing your quayside handling, net and gear maintenance, processing and packing areas, hatchery operations, and providing safe systems of work, training and supervision. This duty does not cover crew safety at sea — that falls to the MCA.

B. Manage fire safety for your premises

The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment and maintain fire-safety arrangements for every shore-based premises you occupy — offices, net stores, processing sheds, cold stores, hatchery buildings. This duty does not cover vessels at sea. The duty is devolved: the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales; the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 in Scotland; and the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 in Northern Ireland.

C. Hold employers' liability insurance

As soon as you employ anyone — crew, farm workers, shore staff — you must hold employers' liability compulsory insurance, normally at least £5 million of cover, and display or make available the certificate issued by your insurer. This is a legal requirement across Great Britain, with an equivalent duty in Northern Ireland.

D. Meet your equality duties

As an employer you must not discriminate against, harass or victimise people because of a protected characteristic. In Great Britain this is governed by the Equality Act 2010; in Northern Ireland separate equality legislation applies, enforced by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

E. Handle personal data lawfully

If you process personal data — about crew, employees, customers or suppliers — you must comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and in most cases pay the data protection fee to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This applies UK-wide.

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    1. Write your health and safety risk assessments

    Assess your shore-based operations — quayside handling, net and gear work, processing, packing, hatchery tasks — and put safe systems of work, training and supervision in place under HASAWA 1974.

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    2. Carry out your fire risk assessment

    Assess the fire risk for every shore-based premises you occupy — offices, net stores, cold stores, processing sheds, hatchery buildings — under the fire-safety regime for your nation.

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    3. Take out employers' liability insurance

    Arrange at least £5 million of cover before anyone starts work and display the certificate issued by your insurer.

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    4. Meet your equality and data protection duties

    Do not discriminate under the Equality Act 2010 (or separate NI equality law enforced by the ECNI); comply with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 and register with the ICO unless you are exempt.

What to do next

This spine covers the duties every fishing and aquaculture business shares for its shore-based operations. On top of it, the rules depend on what you do:

  • If you operate a sea fishing vessel, follow "Meet your sea fishing vessel duties".
  • If you run an aquaculture business or fish freshwater commercially, follow "Meet your aquaculture and freshwater fishing duties".
  • Confirm you have covered everything with the "Fishing and aquaculture: compliance checklist".

Official sources

Authoritative health and safety and data-protection guidance.