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Consultative Committee Operational Arrangements

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Consultative Committee follows a number of guidelines in relation to its operations and decision-making.

  1. There will be a quorum of six committee members, including the Chair of the Consultative Committee (CC) or Vice Chair of the CC
  2. In the event that the Chair of the CC cannot attend a meeting, the Vice Chair will assume the role of chair for that meeting
  3. The Committee shall carry out the functions ascribed in Section 48 of the Act
  4. The Committee shall restrict its discussions to matters relating to the generality of the role of the SFPA in fishery control and seafood safety, and shall avoid discussion of detailed operational matters or specific individual cases
  5. The committee shall endeavour to reach resolution by consensus, but may utilise a ballot system, in which case the majority view of members present shall prevail
  6. There shall be two to four meetings per annum. In exceptional circumstances, the Chair may propose the holding of an extraordinary meeting.
  7. The Chair of the CC may allow meetings to be open to the public, subject to agreement by the committee
  8. Meetings shall be held in an accessible location
  9. Only the Chair of the CC, or a nominee of the Chair, may speak on behalf of the Consultative Committee. If members make any comments in public which might be construed as representing the committee, they must specify that this is not the case
  10. The Consultative Committee shall function in an open and transparent manner. Draft minutes from each meeting will be circulated to the committee members for comment, and finalised at the immediate subsequent meeting
  11. Expenses incurred by committee members in attending committee meetings will be reimbursed. Normal SFPA rates will apply
  12. Should a Consultative Committee member be unable to attend any meeting, documents issued at the meeting will be forwarded. As the posts are appointed by the Minister, it is not possible for members to send a colleague/representative to the meetings