06 Aug 2024

A Private Members Bill to regulate and limit bottom trawling in MPAs, introduced by Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick, has had its first reading in the House of Lords. As currently drafted it states that the regulations must prohibit bottom trawling in MPAs. These are defined as including Marine Conservation Zones, Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas, […]

30 Jul 2024

The European Commission launched infringement proceedings against five  EU Member States for failure to control and enforce the landing obligation – notably against France, Spain (INF_21_4681), the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland (INF_21_5342)  noting that there is a need to help ensure the end of the “extensive, illegal and undocumented discarding of catches in several sea […]

23 Jul 2024

Since 2023, the Our Seas Coalition has been collating testimonies from across Scotland of people’s first-hand experiences and local knowledge of Scotland’s inshore Seas ahead of its touring “Coastal Testimonies” exhibition. The exhibition involved gathering testimonies and portrait photographs from individuals from around Scotland including commercial fishers, skippers, sea anglers, politicians, naturalists, scientists, local businesses, […]

15 Jul 2024

The European Parliamentary Research Service has released a comprehensive study titled “Exploring the viability of innovative fishing technologies as an alternative to bottom trawling in European marine protected areas.” Fisheries in Europe’s marine environment use different types of mobile and static fishing gears that come into contact with the seabed, including mobile bottom-contacting gears (MBCGs) […]

15 Jul 2024

New Oceana analysis has found that fishing vessels are venturing further to remote locations and staying at sea longer in search of valuable catch, like tuna or squid. Oceana’s investigation found nearly 3,000 fishing vessels spent over six months at sea during 2023, with some vessels avoiding port for more than two years. Lengthy fishing […]

25 Jun 2024

A survey of 1,005 Scottish adults revealed 95.7% of those surveyed believe retaining control over UK fisheries is crucial. The Opinions Matters survey was commissioned by the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF). Additionally, 91% see fishing as vital to the UK economy, and 89.7% equate the importance of UK-produced food with energy. The poll highlights that […]