15 Oct 2024
Five new draft Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of UK fish stocks have opened for public consultation. The plans, developed with input from the fishing industry, focus on specific species and regions, including North Sea and Channel sprat, cockle, queen scallop, Southern North Sea skates and rays, and non-quota species. […]
15 Oct 2024
Over the past seven years, a collaborative project supported by the Marine Stewardship Council called Project UK to improve UK fisheries has been summarised in a recent report. The report describes Project UK as “the overarching banner under which many stakeholders deliver fishery improvement work through robust Fishery Improvement Plans (FIPs) … through collaboration, the […]
05 Oct 2024
During Ocean Week in Brussels (30 September – 4 October), 140 organisations urged the newly elected EU institutions to take bold measures to protect Europe’s oceans and coastlines. These include launching an Ocean Fund and banning destructive activities at sea. On 1 October, the Blue Manifesto, led by Seas At Risk, BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, Oceana, […]
01 Oct 2024
A group of leading ocean experts say the prevailing definition of ‘sustainable fishing’ is dangerously flawed and have set out 11 ‘golden rules’ to redefine sustainable fishing. In a paper published in Ocean Sustainability, researchers have called on companies, governments, and legislators to implement these actions to end the ongoing destruction of oceans caused by […]
24 Sep 2024
Plans to extend Scotland’s marine planning zones have been put out to public consultation for a total of 12 weeks. Extending local authority responsibilities Fish and shellfish farms require planning permission out to twelve nautical miles, however local authority responsibilities for planning controls currently only extend to three nautical miles. Under new proposals, the marine […]
25 Aug 2024
A deep dive into stock assessments of fisheries around the world has revealed their sustainability is overstated – and it has implications for fisheries management and consumer awareness. Many fish stocks around the world are either threatened by overfishing or have already collapsed. One of the main reasons for this devastating trend is that policymakers […]
20 Aug 2024
Over half of UK seafood consumers now recognise the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) ecolabel, reflecting a growing awareness of sustainable fishing. A recent survey found 54% of fish and seafood buyers had seen the blue MSC ecolabel, up from 51% in 2022 and 44% in 2016. Understanding of the ecolabel has also improved, with 39% […]
13 Aug 2024
Preliminary data exploration by ICES working group on the Ecosystem Effects of Fishing Activities (WGECO) offers an initial attempt to explore how fishing protection zones could be designed in the future. Recently, concerns over European fisheries have often centred on the impact of fishing displacement due to increasing competition for marine space, driven by, for […]
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