Majority of fish quotas agreed with EU exceed scientific conservation limits

LESS than half of the fishing quotas negotiated by the UK for 2024 are in line with scientific advice for conserving stocks, according to the government’s own assessment.

The sustainability of limits for fish catches negotiated by the UK with the EU and other countries such as Norway for this year has been assessed by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas).

It found that less than half (46%) of the catch limits negotiated were in line with international scientific advice for conserving fish stocks.

The figure is an increase on 2023, when just 40% of the fishing quotas were in line with the scientific advice produced by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices), the benchmark for sustainable fishing.

But marine conservation campaigners said it was not good for fishermen, fish or coastal communities for the government to allow overfishing at such a level.

Charles Clover, co-founder of Blue Marine Foundation, labelled the catch limit negotiated by the UK and EU for Celtic Sea cod, in particular, as “outrageous”.

Celtic Sea cod is one the stocks where the scientific advice for catch levels has been set at zero for the past six years due to huge declines.

But governments have negotiated that 644 tonnes of Celtic Sea cod can be caught in 2024 as “by-catch” by vessels targeting other fisheries.

The adult spawning population is estimated at 645 tonnes, according to Ices figures.

Mr Clover said: “It’s absolutely outrageous to allow a quota that is equivalent to the entire adult spawning population, which is what they have done with Celtic Sea cod.”

And he said: “It is not good for fishermen, or fish or our coastal communities for the government to go on allowing overfishing to the extent that the Cefas report has identified.

“We believe it is actually against our new, post-brexit, Fisheries Act.”

Blue Marine Foundation has launched a legal case against the UK Government for allowing overfishing, which it claims is illegal under post-brexit fishing laws that require management of British fisheries based on the best available scientific advice and with transparency.

Mr Clover has accused the government of not only putting fish populations at risk, but also the fishing industry and coastal communities.

After catch limits of zero were called for by Ices for Channel pollack, reducing it to a by-catch-only fishery, the government has issued a direction to compensate affected fishermen.

The scheme will see around 50 owners, of mostly small inshore boats, compensated for half their income lost due to the bycatch-only pollack fishery, as they cannot target the fish in 2024 and rely on it for at least 30% of their income.