07 Jan 2025

The Scottish Seafood Association (SSA) has voiced support for the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) and their recent statement regarding the urgent need to safeguard the future of fishing and processing communities. SFF warned recently that their industry faces a twin threat to its future in 2025. Offshore wind farms in the North Sea and the prime minister’s ambitions to […]

07 Jan 2025

Fishermen in Cornwall fear proposals for offshore wind farms could destroy their businesses and pose the “greatest change” the fishing industry has ever faced. David Stevens, a fisherman and member of the Cornwall Fish Producers Organisation, says the proposals for the area where he fishes would “close down around 60% to 70%” of the waters. […]

30 Dec 2024

Scottish fishing chiefs have warned their industry faces a twin threat to its future in 2025. Offshore wind farms in the North Sea and the prime minister’s ambitions to “reset” relations between the UK and European Union are major dangers for the sector, they say. Scotland’s fishing sector is at risk of being “crushed” unless […]

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 […]

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 […]

17 Sep 2024

A trial on electrofishing for razor clams, launched in February 2018, is delivering promising results as it continues through January 2025. Led by the Science, Evidence, Data and Digital portfolio of the Marine Directorate, the trial aims to gather local level data on razor clam populations, assess sustainable harvesting methods, and evaluate the impact of […]

17 Sep 2024

On the 13th September, the European Commission proposed a revision of the EU tools designed to address unsustainable fishing practices by non-EU countries on fish stocks of common interest. The announcement stated the revision will “make the current tools more effective and reinforce the good governance and sustainability of our ocean”. The Commission’s proposal is […]