Defra has launched a consultation to gather evidence on the impact of fly seining in English waters to support sustainable fishing and reduce pressure on fish stocks, Fishing Daily has reported.

Fly seining, also known as fly shooting or demersal seining, is a fishing method involving long weighted ropes to herd fish into the mouth of the trawl to target demersal species which live or feed on or near the seabed, such as red mullet, gurnards and squid. Many of these fish are non-quota stocks (NQS) meaning there is no limit on how many can be fished.

Parts of the fishing industry and environmental organisations have raised concerns about the impact on fish stocks, particularly those on which we currently only have limited data. Measures under consideration include restricting the number of vessels with fly seining gear, the power of their engines and placing limits on the fishing gear.

The European parliament voted in July to ban “fly shooting” fishing in French territorial waters in the Channel, following reports that the technique was having a “devastating” effect on local fishers. While the European parliament does not have the power to ban the fishing method, MEPs said the vote sent an important message to decision-makers about the impact of fly-shooting on coastal fishing communities. The vote on an amendment to the common fisheries policy, involving access to territorial waters, will now be considered by the European Commission, the parliament and EU member states.

The proposals in the consultation relate to the impact of certain fishing vessel capacity in English waters. The proposals, in brief, focus on extending current measures (such as applying the 221kw restrictions for beam trawlers in the English 0-12nm to flyseine gear); and/or amending or reviewing existing restrictions (such as the 40mm mesh size derogation for directed squid fishery); and/or bringing in new measures (such as restricting fleet capacity or rope diameter and/or rope length for flyseine gear). The expectation is that any new technical measures in English waters could come into effect during 2023.

The consultation closes in mid-November and further details can be found on the Defra website here.