16 Apr 2024

New legislation requiring all under-12 metre vessels fishing in English waters to have an operational inshore vessel monitoring system (I-VMS) device, is just months away from being in place it has been announced. The positional data provided by I-VMS devices will aid in ensuring the sustainability of UK fisheries and provide a more thorough understanding […]

16 Apr 2024

The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) in the Isle of Man has introduced new measures to protect three significant fishing sites in its waters by banning bottom trawling. These closed areas are located within the Western Irish Sea Mud-belt (WISMB), a vital habitat for various marine species, notably langoustines. Despite decades of extensive […]

16 Apr 2024

Jerry Percy, Director of the New Under Ten Fishermen’s Association (NUTFA) has announced the forthcoming closure of the organisation that has represented the under ten sector of the industry for many years. A Difficult Decision The non-profit organisation has worked for the under 10m and non-sector at local, UK and EU levels, for quota and […]

02 Apr 2024

Although established indicators enable managers to monitor progress toward ending “overfishing” and “Illegal Unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing”, there is no globally agreed definition or indicator for “destructive fishing”. The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) recommends: “States should prohibit dynamiting, poisoning and other comparable destructive fishing practices” (art. 8.4.2)”. However, a review […]

19 Mar 2024

New social research publication from the Scottish Government explores what influences the decision making of Scottish fishers. It presents findings from twelve interviews with fishers. The main findings are focused on the social, economic, governance, and environmental drivers in fishers’ decision making. The report titled “What factors influence the strategies and choices of Scottish fishers? […]

21 Jan 2024

The French government has announced a temporary ban on almost all commercial fishing in the Bay of Biscay. The ban will begin on 22nd January and run until 20th February 2024. It will affect fishing grounds off the country’s Atlantic coast and has been introduced to protect dolphins. The campaigning group, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, has called on […]

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 […]