Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups Areas (RIFGs)

Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups (RIFGs) are bodies that aim to improve the management of Scotland's inshore fisheries (out to twelve nautical miles) and to give commercial inshore fishermen a strong voice in wider marine management developments. Originally six pilot IFGs were established in 2009 (covering the Outer Hebrides, the Clyde, the south east of Scotland, the north west, small isles and Mull, and Moray Firth) and each developed an inshore fisheries management plan for its area. This was followed in 2013 by six Inshore Fisheries Groups (IFGs) covering all of the Scottish coast (except Shetland which has its own management arrangements). The West Coast and North & East Coast RIFGs were established in April 2016 and replace the four IFGs that formerly covered the Scottish mainland coast.

This layer shows the RIFG network, which includes the West Coast, North & East Coast and Outer Hebrides RIFGs, along with the Orkney Management Group and Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation. 

In 2020, the scope of RIFGs was extended to the 12NM limit as part of the Future Fisheries Management (FFM) policy.