Fish Legal and the Angling Trust have written to the government to warn that it could face legal action if it fails to protect sensitive marine sites off the South Coast of England.

Thousands of English wrasse are being caught in Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) – protected under EU law – and transported to Scotland to be used as ‘cleaner’ fish by the salmon farming industry.

Fish Legal has told Defra that in order to comply with the EU Habitats Directive (note 1) it needs to assess the effect of removing wrasse – a popular angling species in the South West – in huge quantities from Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), such as Plymouth Sound, where they play a critical role in the ecosystem of the protected reefs. Where there is a risk that their removal affects the integrity of these reefs, an appropriate assessment must be undertaken. 

Data Deficient

Few data exist on the abundance of wrasse on the protected reefs and simply introducing voluntary measures to reduce their exploitation is not enough. As a result, Fish Legal and the Angling Trust believe that the commercial wrasse fisheries within SACs should be suspended as a precautionary measure until more is known.

Fish Legal is calling on the government to apply the precautionary approach to other MPAs, including Marine Conservation Zones, and manage wrasse exploitation in a co-ordinated manner to ensure the survival of wrasse stocks and the protection of the reef ecosystems they support.  Evidence obtained by Fish Legal as part of a freedom of information request suggests approximately one million wrasse a year are now being taken from reefs and protected areas along the South Coast of England. More evidence obtained confirms that Marine Scotland, the competent authority where the fishery started, have no idea how many fish have been removed but are “seriously concerned about stock levels throughout Scotland.” 

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