Cod stocks which have already collapsed could fall to a record low after UK and EU fishing ministers ignored scientific advice when setting catch limits for next year, a marine conservation charity has warned.

The limits set by the UK and EU on shared stocks of fish breach a commitment they made in the post-Brexit trade agreement to recover populations and maintain them at healthy levels, the Blue Marine Foundation said.

The ministers set catch limits for all five of the UK’s cod populations above the level advised by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), an independent scientific body*.

The cod population off the west coast of Scotland has already declined by 95 per cent since 1981 from 44,962 tonnes to 2,213 tonnes. ICES recommended that no fish from the stock should be caught to allow it to recover but the ministers set a limit of 1,279 tonnes. In the Celtic Sea, the cod population has fallen by 87 per cent since 1981, from 12,924 tonnes to 1,710 tonnes. ICES also set a zero catch limit for this stock but ministers agreed to allow the industry to take 644 tonnes next year.

Charles Clover, executive director of the Blue Marine Foundation, said ministers had chosen to support the fishing industry’s short-term profits over long-term marine protection and stock recovery.

“The results of this year’s fish negotiations are actually quite shocking for cod: the EU and the UK are required by law to manage depleted stocks such as these ones for recovery,” he said.

“However, yet again the country’s favourite fish are being sacrificed for profits and the gap between political rhetoric and actual decisions is growing ever larger.

“The only way we will recover the cod is by setting lower catch limits that will lead to recovery, not continued decline, and set aside areas of the sea where these fish can live unmolested by the fishing industry.”

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*They note that this is because the ICES advice was based on provisional landings for the 2021 fishing year and that subsequent data suggests a lower mortality than that assumed for the published ICES advice Click here