Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 6 October 2020

Who are we?

Kent and Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (KEIFCA) was established on 1st April 2011 under provisions contained within the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 to manage the sustainable exploitation of sea fisheries resources within an area of over 3,412 km2, which extends from the east end of Rye Bay in Kent to the northern boundary of Essex on the River Stour, including the development and implementation of management measures and the enforcement of compliance with such in addition to national and international fisheries legislation. .

The Authority collects, processes and stores data to carry out its statutory functions. Use of data is crucial to making effective management and enforcement decisions and this is reflected in our related duty to collect such data as is required to meet our statutory functions and in Defra guidance to Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) which sets out the use of ‘evidence based marine management’ .

KEIFCA collects, uses and is responsible for certain personal information about you. When we do so we are regulated under the General Data Protection Regulation which applies across the European Union (including in the United Kingdom) and we are responsible as ‘controller’ of that personal information for the purposes of those laws. Our Data Protection Officer is Will Wright.

The personal information we collect and use

Information collected by us

In the course of applying for permits, licences, job applications, compliance inspections, making complaints or enquiries we collect the following personal information when you provide it to us:

Personal information such as names, addresses, dates of birth and contact details including email addresses and contact telephone numbers
Catch and effort data by vessel and PLN (official Port Letters and Number)
Positional information relating to vessel and PLN

On what grounds do we use the information?

KEIFCA has a legal duty to manage the sustainable exploitation of sea fisheries resources within its district. These are set out in the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. The Authority cannot deliver this duty without processing personal data.

How do we collect the information?

The information is provided directly from the public via application forms and fisheries inspection reports or gathered directly from officers working on the ground.

How we use your personal information

We use your personal information to:

process your permit or licence application or job application
respond to complaints and enquiries
send information relating to the work of KEIFCA
report UK sightings of vessels
update management of fisheries and marine protected areas
contact you with consultation documents closely related to your interests.

How long your personal data will be kept

We will hold your personal information for:

unsuccessful job applicants - 6 months
whelk and cockle permits, cockle licence applications

- photo ID -12 months
- application forms – 3 years + current

ebulletins – until you ask us to remove you from the mailing list
compliance inspections - 3 years + current
where offences have occurred - 7 years

Who we share your personal information with

Kent & Essex IFCA has updated its privacy notices to reflect the implementation of a Data Sharing Agreement with the Marine Management Organisation (MMO).

KEIFCA and MMO regularly share data to inform decision making and make the best use of evidence using freedom of information requests. The data sharing agreement sets out how KEIFCA and MMO will more routinely share data with the MMO whilst ensuring the rights and freedoms of the data subjects.

The types of data being shared are contact details, fishing activity data and criminal activity data.

We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law.

Your Rights

Under the GDPR you have a number of rights which you can access free of charge which allow you to:

Know what we are doing with your information and why we are doing it
Ask to see what information we hold about you
Ask us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold about you
Object to direct marketing
Make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office

Depending on our reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:

Ask us to delete information we hold about you
Have your information transferred electronically to yourself or to another organisation
Object to decisions being made that significantly affect you
Object to how we are using your information
Stop us using your information in certain ways

We will always seek to comply with your request however we may be required to hold or use your information to comply with legal duties.

For further information about your rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioners Office (ICO) on individuals’ rights under the General Data Protection Regulation.

Keeping your personal information secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Cyber security

The Authority has in place up to date and robust cyber security measures including the following:

Intercepting proxies which block malicious websites;
Mail and spam filtering enabled;
Maintenance of up to date protective software (anti-malware and anti-virus software);
Regular software updates;
Robust backup system;
Double encryption on laptops;
Encrypted, work issued smart phones with no remote access to IT system;
Network firewalls;
Regular software updates

Who to Contact

Please contact Debbie O’Shea at debbie.oshea@kentandessex-ifca.gov.uk to exercise any of your rights, or if you have a complaint about why your information has been collected, how it has been used or how long we have kept it for

You can contact our Data Protection Officer, Will Wright, at will.wright@kentandessex-ifca.gov.uk

The General Data Protection Regulation also gives you the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner who may be contacted at https://ico.org.uk/concerns or telephone 03031 231113.