22 Oct 2024

New legislation implementing a range of short-term management measures for certain species of fish have been introduced to the UK Parliament (16 October 2024). These new arrangements have been identified within the first Fisheries Management Plans (FMP) as priority to help provide additional protection to vulnerable stocks. The measures, which are subject to Parliamentary scrutiny, […]

21 Jan 2024

A new study has revealed how much carbon bottom trawling releases into the atmosphere. Much of the damage done by dragging across the bottom of the sea to catch fish has been known for many years. However, new research shows that it is also an unaccounted source of carbon emissions that is “too big to […]

21 Jan 2024

Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has confirmed that more than 80% of under-12m inshore vessels participated in the I-VMS roll-out programme last year, resulting in £1.3m of European funding being awarded to fishers. New legislation, a statutory instrument (SI), is expected to come into force in April 2024 and will require all under-12m vessels fishing for […]

10 Jan 2022

An article by Jon Hare, the Science and Research Director of NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, on the ‘wicked problem’ of fisheries management. He sets out 10 lessons to carry forward in his efforts to provide advice in this field “backed by sound science and an ecosystem-based approach to management”. Accept that […]

16 Feb 2021

The first few plenary sessions of the negotiations for a UK/EU fisheries agreement for 2021 have provided a glimpse into the UK’s future relationship with the EU. The primary task in the annual negotiations is to set total allowable catches for shared stocks. As this is the first set of annual fisheries negotiations in which […]

14 Sep 2020

As the Fisheries Bill progresses through Parliament on the way to becoming law, the way that UK fisheries are managed is likely to change in the future. One area of interest is the potential role of regional decision-making and governance, such as through local councils, enterprise partnerships and community-led initiatives. Register if you wish to […]

25 May 2018

The significant role seagrass meadows play in supporting fisheries productivity and food security across the globe is not adequately reflected in the decisions made by authorities with statutory responsibility for their management. This paper reveals why seagrass meadows need targeted policies to recognize and protect their role in supporting fisheries production and food security. Seagrass […]

12 Oct 2015

I missed this when it came out but this has important implications for the management in many areas of the Scottish coast. Scottish Government  ‘An analysis of the impacts from different options for the management of the Scottish Inshore fisheries. In particular, the report provides an appraisal of scenarios related to restrictions on the use […]