Commercial fishing pressure for stocks of UK interest
The percentage of marine fish (quota) stocks fished below maximum sustainable yield has increased from 12% in 1990 to 53% in 2015. As of 2012, 44% of national shellfish stocks (non-quota) were exploited beyond maximum sustainable yield.
Background
Europe has a long history of commercially exploiting marine fisheries resources. Historically, the overexploitation of fish and shellfish stocks led to reductions in potential yield. In response, a range of national and international management measures to protect and conserve marine fisheries resources were implemented. Measures that help to limit fishing mortality include setting catch quotas, fishing effort controls, and vessel licensing to ensure that stocks are exploited sustainably with high long-term yields. Achieving Good Environmental Status requires that fishing mortality (denoted ‘F’) is at or below the level capable of producing maximum sustainable yield (denoted ‘MSY’).
This indicator assessment is an evaluation of the temporal trends in the exploitation level of stocks of UK interest with respect to the fishing mortality target: FMSY (or its proxy). The aim is to increase the proportion of stocks fished at or below FMSY and reduce to zero the number of stocks of unknown status relative to FMSY. Since marine fish (including Nephrops) are subject to international quota and national shellfish stocks (crab, lobster, and scallop) are not, these two groups are considered separately. The objective is for all populations of commercially exploited fish and shellfish to be within safe biological limits indicative of healthy stocks.
Further information
Political commitments to achieve the sustainable exploitation of marine fisheries resources have been specified in two major pieces of European environmental legislation. Firstly, the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy was launched in 1970 with the objective of ensuring that fishing is environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable (European Commission, 2013). An important component of the Common Fisheries Policy is that stocks should be exploited sustainably to provide the maximum sustainable yield, defined the maximum catch that can be taken annually without reducing stock productivity, by 2020. Secondly, the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive was established in 2008 to protect the marine environment and ensure the sustainable use of marine goods and services by achieving Good Environmental Status of marine waters by 2020 (EU Commission, 2008). Fulfilling the Marine Strategy Framework Directive’s objective of achieving Good Environmental Status is consistent with the Common Fisheries Policy requirement that fishing mortality is at or below the level capable of generating maximum sustainable yield.
Most commercially exploited fish and Nephrops (Norway lobster) stocks in Europe are monitored and assessed by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and are subject to internationally agreed quotas. In UK waters, national assessments are undertaken for crab and lobster stocks (Cefas 2015a; 2015b; Mesquita and others, 2016) and scallops (Dobby and others, 2012; ICES 2015). Fisheries management advice for assessed stocks is based on estimates of fishing mortality and biomass relative to reference points for long-term sustainability (ICES, 2016). Reference points include the fishing mortality required to achieve maximum sustainable yield (denoted ‘FMSY’). Assessment methods vary between stocks according to the quantity and quality of the available data. All available data for UK stocks are considered equally in the indicator assessment.
Marine Fish (Quota) Stocks
Stocks considered here are given in Table 1. Assessed stocks have been classified by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea into one of six data categories depending on the availability of data collected under the European Union Data Collection Framework (ICES, 2012). The categorisation of the stocks reflects the decreasing availability of data, and conclusions on fishing mortality and stock biomass are typically less certain as the category increases.
Table 1. Marine fish (quota) stocks of UK interest.
|
Stock Description |
Data type |
Assessment method |
Method description |
|
Nephrops in Divisions IVb and IVc Botney Gut/Silver Pit (FU5) |
Data-Limited |
Data-limited method for Nephrops |
Potential harvest rates given habitat |
|
North Sea Megrim in Divisions IVa and VIa |
Data-rich |
Bayesian state-space biomass dynamic model |
Fully quantitative |
|
Whiting in Division VIb (Rockall) |
Data-Limited |
NA |
NA |
|
Cod in VIb Rockall Plateau |
Data-Limited |
NA |
NA |
|
Pollack (Pollachius pollachius) in Subareas VI-VII (Celtic Seas and the English Channel) |
Data-Limited |
DCAC (Depletion-Corrected Average Catch) |
Commercial landings trend |
|
Sprat in Subarea VI and Divisions VIIa-c and f-k (Celtic Sea and West of Scotland) |
Data-Limited |
NA |
NA |
|
Black-bellied anglerfish in Divisions VIIb,k, and VIIIa,b,d |
Data-Limited |
Survey CPUE and landings |
Trends based |
|
Anglerfish in Subareas IV and VI and Division IIIa |
Data-Limited |
Survey CPUE and landings |
Trends based |
|
White anglerfish in Divisions VIIb,k, and VIIIa, b, d |
Data-Limited |
Survey CPUE and landings |
Trends based |
|
Ling in Subareas VI-IX, XII, and XIV, and in Divisions IIIa and IVa |
Data-Limited |
Commercial CPUE and landings |
Trends based |
|
Megrim in Division VIb |
Data-Limited |
Survey CPUE and landings |
Trends based |
|
Megrim in Divisions VIIb,k and VIIIa, b, d |
Data-Limited |
Statistical catch at age model |
Trends based |
|
Plaice in Divisions VIIf,g |
Data-Limited |
Survey-based assessment |
Survey-based trends |
|
Whiting in Division VIIa |
Data-Limited |
Survey-based assessment (SurbaR) |
Survey-based trends |
|
Cod (Gadus morhua) in Subarea IV and Divisions VIId and IIIa West (North Sea. Eastern English Channel. Skagerrak) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (SAM) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Cod (Gadus morhua) in Divisions VIIe-k (Western English Channel and Southern Celtic Seas) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (XSA) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Cod (Gadus morhua) in Division VIIa (Irish Sea) |
Data-rich |
Analytical assessment (SAM) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Cod (Gadus morhua) in Division VIa (West of Scotland) |
Data-rich |
Analytical age-based assessment (TSA) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Spurdog in the Northeast Atlantic |
Data-rich |
Age-length and sex-structured model (De Oliveira et al., 2013) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Haddock in Subarea IV and Divisions IIIa West and VIa (North Sea. Skagerrak and West of Scotland) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (TSA) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Haddock in Divisions VIIb.c.e-k |
Data-rich |
Age-Structured Assessment Programme (ASAP) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Haddock in Division VIIa (Irish Sea) |
Data-Limited |
SURBA analysis based on survey information |
Survey-based trends |
|
Haddock in Division VIb (Rockall) |
Data-rich |
Analytical age-based assessment (XSA) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Herring in Subarea IV and Divisions IIIa and VIId (North Sea autumn spawners) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (SAM) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Herring (Clupea harengus) in Divisions VIa and VIIb.c (West of Scotland. West of Ireland) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (SAM) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Herring in the Celtic Sea and South of Ireland |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (ASAP) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Herring in Division VIIa North of 52° 30N (Irish Sea) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (FLSAM) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Herring in Subareas I. II. V and Divisions IVa and XIVa (Norwegian spring-spawning herring) |
Data-rich |
Statistical assessment model (XSAM) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Hake in Division IIIa. Subareas IV. VI and VII and Divisions VIIIa.b.d (Northern stock) |
Data-rich |
Length-based model (SS3) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) in Divisions IIa. IVa. Vb. VIa. VIIa-c. e-k. VIII (Western stock) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (Linked Separable Adapt VPA) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Mackerel in the Northeast Atlantic (combined Southern. Western and North Sea spawning components) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical model (SAM) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Nephrops in Division VIa (North Minch. FU 11) |
Data-rich |
Underwater TV survey combined with yield-per-recruit analysis from length data |
Fully quantitative |
|
Nephrops in Division VIa (South Minch. FU 12) |
Data-rich |
Underwater TV survey combined with yield-per-recruit analysis from length data |
Fully quantitative |
|
Nephrops in the Firth of Clyde + Sound of Jura (FU 13) |
Data-rich |
Underwater TV survey combined with yield-per-recruit analysis from length data |
Fully quantitative |
|
Nephrops in Division VIIa (Irish Sea East. FU 14) |
Data-rich |
Underwater TV survey combined with yield-per-recruit analysis from length data |
Fully quantitative |
|
Nephrops in Division VIIa (Irish Sea West. FU 15) |
Data-rich |
Underwater TV survey combined with yield-per-recruit analysis from length data |
Fully quantitative |
|
Nephrops in Division VIIb.c.j.k (Porcupine Bank. FU 16) |
Data-rich |
Underwater TV survey combined with yield-per-recruit analysis from length data |
Fully quantitative |
|
Nephrops in Division IVb (Farn Deeps. FU 6) |
Data-rich |
Underwater TV survey combined with yield-per-recruit analysis from length data |
Fully quantitative |
|
Nephrops in Division IVa (Fladen Ground. FU 7) |
Data-rich |
Underwater TV survey combined with yield-per-recruit analysis from length data |
Fully quantitative |
|
Nephrops in Division IVb (Firth of Forth. FU 8) |
Data-rich |
Underwater TV survey combined with yield-per-recruit analysis from length data |
Fully quantitative |
|
Nephrops in Division IVa (Moray Firth. FU 9) |
Data-rich |
Underwater TV survey combined with yield-per-recruit analysis from length data |
Fully quantitative |
|
Plaice in Division VIId (Eastern Channel) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (Aarts and Poos, 2009) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Plaice in Division VIIe (Western Channel) |
Data-Limited |
Age-based analytical assessment (XSA) |
Survey-based trends |
|
Plaice in Division VIIa (Irish Sea) |
Data-Limited |
Age-based assessment model (Aarts and Poos, 2009) |
Survey-based trends |
|
Plaice Subarea IV (North Sea) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (XSA) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Roundnose grenadier (Coryphaenoides rupestris) in Subareas VI and VII, and Divisons Vb and XIIb |
Data-rich |
Bayesian surplus production model covering only Division 5.b and subareas 6 and 7 |
Fully quantitative |
|
Saithe in Subarea IV (North Sea) Division IIIa West (Skagerrak) and Subarea VI (West of Scotland and Rockall) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (SAM) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Sole in Divisions VIIf. g (Celtic Sea) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (XSA) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Sole in Division VIId (Eastern Channel) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (XSA) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Sole in Division VIIe (Western Channel) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (XSA) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Sole in Division VIIa (Irish Sea) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (XSA) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Sole in Subarea IV (North Sea) |
Data-rich |
Statistical catch-at-age model with flexible selectivity functions |
Fully quantitative |
|
Sprat in Subarea IV (North Sea) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (SMS) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Blue whiting in Subareas I-IX. XII and XIV (Combined stock) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (SAM) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Whiting Subarea IV (North Sea) and Division VIId (Eastern Channel) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (XSA) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Whiting in ICES Division VIIb. c. e-k |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (XSA) |
Fully quantitative |
|
Whiting in Division VIa (West of Scotland) |
Data-rich |
Age-based analytical assessment (TSA) |
Fully quantitative |
National Shellfish Stocks
Stocks considered here are given in Table 2. National assessments are completed every three years, currently FMSY reference points are not available for the majority of stocks.
Table 2. National shellfish stocks of UK interest. The King scallops stocks (*) are proposed stock units (ICES, 2016).
|
Species |
Stock |
Species |
Stock |
|
Velvet crab Necora puber |
Clyde |
Lobster Homarus gammarus; Palinurus elephas |
East Anglia |
|
East Coast |
Northumberland and Durham |
||
|
Hebrides |
Southwest |
||
|
Mallaig |
Yorkshire and Humber coast |
||
|
North Coast |
Clyde |
||
|
Orkney |
East Coast |
||
|
Papa Bank |
Hebrides |
||
|
Shetland |
Mallaig |
||
|
South East |
North Coast |
||
|
South Minch |
Orkney |
||
|
Sule |
Papa Bank |
||
|
Ullapool |
Shetland |
||
|
Brown crab Cancer pagarus |
Clyde |
South East |
|
|
East Coast |
South Minch |
||
|
Hebrides |
Sule |
||
|
Mallaig |
Ullapool |
||
|
North Coast |
King scallops Pecten maximus* |
Irish Sea |
|
|
Orkney |
|
Cardigan Bay |
|
|
Papa Bank |
|
Celtic Sea |
|
|
Shetland |
|
Western Channel N |
|
|
South East |
|
Western Channel S |
|
|
South Minch |
|
Eastern Channel N |
|
|
Sule |
|
Central North Sea |
|
|
Ullapool |
|
West of Kintyre |
|
|
Celtic Sea |
|
Northwest |
|
|
Central North Sea |
|
Northeast |
|
|
Southern North Sea |
|
Shetland |
|
|
Western Channel |
|
Orkney |
|
|
Queen Scallops Aequipecten opercularis |
West of Scotland and Irish Sea (VIa and VIIa) |
|
Clyde |
|
|
East Coast |
Assessment method
A total of 57 marine fish stocks (including Nephrops stock units) and 59 national shellfish stocks of UK interest in the North East Atlantic Ocean were included in the assessment of fishing pressure indicators.
Fishing pressure metrics were estimated since 1990 because there were great changes prior to this in fisheries management aims and objectives (Lassen and others, 2014). A new advisory framework was adopted in 1976, precautionary approach reference points were not formally adopted until the 1990s, and maximum sustainable yield much later (Lassen and others, 2014). Following an initial analysis, national shellfish and marine fish (including Nephrops) communities were separated given the differing management regimes for national stocks and those with internationally agreed quotas, contrasting temporal patterns in the metrics and differing levels of maturity in the stock assessment procedures.
Marine fish (quota) stocks
Stocks ranged from ICES Data Categories 1 to 6 and were located in the Celtic Seas and Greater North Sea. Category 1 is considered data-rich, and all other categories are data-limited. The stocks comprise a very large proportion of the total landings by UK vessels (> 90%).
ICES has developed maximum sustainable yield and precautionary approaches to provide fisheries management advice based on data availability and the current state of knowledge (ICES, 2016a). Stocks in ICES Data Categories 1 and 2 have full analytical assessments that provide fishing mortality estimates comparable to target exploitation rates capable of producing maximum sustainable yield in the long term (for example: ICES, 2016b). Estimates of target exploitation rates consistent with maximum sustainable yield, however, require a relatively high level of data and knowledge of stock dynamics. Assessments for Category 3 and 4 stocks provide fishing mortality estimates from survey indices or catch time-series that can be related to proxies of maximum sustainable yield or precautionary reference points (ICES, 2016c). Data-limited stocks in Categories 5 and 6 have insufficient information to estimate fishing mortality with a high degree of certainty and, therefore management advice is based on the precautionary approach (ICES, 2013).
The preliminary analysis focused on estimating fishing mortality relative to recent estimates of target exploitation rates (FMSY) for stocks of UK interest. Reference points (FMSY) and time-series of annual fishing mortality estimates were extracted from national publications, the ICES Standard Graphs database and an online interface for stock assessment. An annual fishing pressure metric for each stock was estimated by dividing annual fishing mortality estimates by the time-series invariant FMSY target. Assessments for data-limited stocks of UK interest without time-series of annual fishing mortality estimates or FMSY targets, or proxies of them, could not be made and the stocks were classified as unknown.
National shellfish stocks
Crab and lobster assessments are the most developed of the shellfish assessments and provide data on spawning stock biomass by sex using Length Cohort Analysis (Cefas 2015a, 2015b; Mesquita and others, 2016). Stock assessments for scallops are still in development, but great progress has been made in recent years with well-defined stock units in Scottish waters and preliminary stock units for English and Welsh waters under discussion (Dobby and others, 2012; ICES 2015).
Indicator
The indicator is estimated annually by dividing the total number of stocks with fishing pressure lower than FMSY by the number of unique stocks present in the dataset (irrespective of whether or not reference points and time series are available for each stock). In this way, the number of stocks over time is kept constant despite changes in assessment procedures. The community-specific fishing pressure indicator is thus the proportion of marine fish stocks of UK interest or national shellfish stocks exploited at or below FMSY.
Results
Findings in the UK Initial Assessment in 2012
Previously assessments were made by Sub-Region (Greater North Sea, Celtic Seas) for those stocks for which ICES provided full assessments (including reference points) and for which the UK contributed to through the Data Collection Framework.
For the Greater North Sea, 64% of analytically assessed fish stocks (excluding data-limited stocks) were considered at Good Environmental Status in terms of fishing mortality (HM Government, 2012). Nephrops (Norway lobster) were the only shellfish species in the North Sea covered by the initial assessment. Four of the nine Nephrops stocks in the North Sea were assessed and of these 25% met Good Environmental Status for fishing mortality (HM Government, 2012).
For the Celtic Seas, 61% of analytically assessed fish stocks (excluding data-limited stocks) met Good Environmental Status for fishing mortality. Again, Nephrops were the only shellfish where data were sufficient for reporting and of 7 of 8 stock units assessed in relation to fishing mortality, 70% met Good Environmental Status for fishing mortality (HM Government, 2012).
For national shellfish stocks, the data available at the time showed that crab and lobster stocks around the English and Scottish coasts were being fished at a rate either around or, more often, above maximum sustainable yield (HM Government, 2012). Scallops could not be assessed.
Latest findings
The indicator has been updated and now includes more stocks, including those of unknown status. A steady increase in the proportion of marine fish stocks of UK interest exploited at or below FMSY (fishing mortality consistent with achieving maximum sustainable yield) was evident between 1990 and 2015 (Figure 1). Of the 57 marine fish stocks, 12% were exploited at or below FMSY in 1990, rising to 53% in 2015. Concurrently, the proportion of stocks exploited above FMSY declined from 47% in 1990 to 35% in 2015. Over this period, the proportion of fish stocks with unknown status decreased from 40% in 1990 to 12% in 2015.
Figure 1. The proportion of marine fish (quota) stocks of UK interest exploited with respect to FMSY, where FMSY is the fishing mortality consistent with achieving maximum sustainable yield.
Recent developments in stock assessments have resulted in a great reduction in the proportion of national shellfish stocks with unknown status (from 86% in 1990 to 51% in 2012, when the majority of shellfish assessments were last updated). However, 44% of the 59 shellfish stocks were exploited above FMSY in 2012 (Figure 2).
Figure 2: The proportion of national shellfish stocks of UK interest exploited with respect to FMSY, where FMSY is the fishing mortality consistent with achieving maximum sustainable yield.
Overall, the indicator assessments illustrate increases in the evidence base for both national shellfish and marine fish stocks and sustained progress towards achieving maximum sustainable yield by 2020 for marine fish stocks only.
Further information
The stocks considered here are fished not only by UK vessels but also by fleets from other countries. The proportion of the total international landings that arises from marine fish stocks that are exploited at or below FMSY has increased, with great fluctuations (Figure 3), from 18% in 1990 to 33% in 2015; the recent fall from 64% in 2013 is largely due to an increase in fishing mortality on the blue whiting stock. This fluctuating pattern demonstrates that, despite quota setting, often a large proportion of the landings arises from stocks that are fished with mortality rates above their target fishing mortalities (FMSY).
Figure 3. The proportion of the total international landings of marine fish (quota) stocks categorised with respect to FMSY, where FMSY (and FMSY) is the fishing mortality consistent with achieving maximum sustainable yield.
A high degree of confidence exists in the assessment of fishing pressure for many marine fish stocks of UK interest. Shellfish stock assessments have recently been developed, but for some stocks the data are more limited and the assessments may be less reliable. The number of stocks classified as unknown in the assessment should continue to decline as data availability increases and assessment methods improve. The current status of each marine fish stock and each shellfish stock is given in Tables 3 and 4.
Table 3. Marine fish (quota) stocks of UK interest Fishing Pressure (FP) indicators evaluated in 2015. FP values above 1 show fishing levels (F) above fishing mortality consistent with achieving maximum sustainable yield (FMSY).
|
Stock description |
Stock code |
FP indicator (2015) |
Fishing sustainability |
|
Plaice in Divisions VIIf,g |
ple-celt |
0.167 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Haddock in Division VIIa (Irish Sea) |
had-iris |
0.169 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Roundnose grenadier (Coryphaenoides rupestris) in Subareas VI and VII, and Divisons Vb and XIIb |
rng-5b67 |
0.253 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Whiting in Division VIa (West of Scotland) |
whg-scow |
0.317 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Sole in Division VIIa (Irish Sea) |
sol-iris |
0.375 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Herring (Clupea harengus) in Divisions VIa and VIIb.c (West of Scotland. West of Ireland) |
her-67bc |
0.444 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Megrim in Division VIb |
meg-rock |
0.493 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Nephrops in Division VIIb.c.j.k (Porcupine Bank. FU 16) |
nep-16 |
0.532 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Nephrops in Division VIa (South Minch. FU 12) |
nep-12 |
0.547 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Plaice in Division VIIe (Western Channel) |
ple-echw |
0.62 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Sole in Division VIIe (Western Channel) |
sol-echw |
0.676 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Nephrops in Division VIa (North Minch. FU 11) |
nep-11 |
0.704 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Herring in the Celtic Sea and South of Ireland |
her-irls |
0.727 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Whiting in ICES Division VIIb. c. e-k |
whg-7e-k |
0.735 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Nephrops in the Firth of Clyde + Sound of Jura (FU 13) |
nep-13 |
0.821 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
White anglerfish in Divisions VIIb,k and VIIIa, b, d |
anp-78ab |
0.854 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Megrim in Divisions VIIb,k and VIIIa, b, d |
mgw-78 |
0.856 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Nephrops in Division IVa (Fladen Ground. FU 7) |
nep-7 |
0.267 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Sprat in Subarea IV (North Sea) |
spr-nsea |
0.287 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Herring in Subareas I. II. V and Divisions IVa and XIVa (Norwegian spring-spawning herring) |
her-noss |
0.4 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Plaice in Division VIId (Eastern Channel) |
ple-eche |
0.488 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Herring in Subarea IV and Divisions IIIa and VIId (North Sea autumn spawners) |
her-47d3 |
0.733 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Saithe in Subarea IV (North Sea) Division IIIa West (Skagerrak) and Subarea VI (West of Scotland and Rockall) |
sai-3a46 |
0.739 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Nephrops in Division IVa (Moray Firth. FU 9) |
nep-9 |
0.771 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Anglerfish in Subareas IV and VI and Division IIIa |
ang-ivvi |
0.852 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Plaice Subarea IV (North Sea) |
ple-nsea |
0.916 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Spurdog in the Northeast Atlantic |
dgs-nea |
0.4 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Ling in Subareas VI-IX, XII, and XIV, and in Divisions IIIa and Iva |
lin-oth |
0.484 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Hake in Division IIIa. Subareas IV. VI and VII and Divisions VIIIa.b.d (Northern stock) |
hke-nrtn |
0.786 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) in Divisions IIa. IVa. Vb. VIa. VIIa-c. e-k. VIII (Western stock) |
hom-west |
0.969 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
Herring in Division VIIa North of 52° 30N (Irish Sea) |
her-nirs |
1.012 |
F > FMSY |
|
Haddock in Division VIb (Rockall) |
had-rock |
1.07 |
F > FMSY |
|
Whiting in Division VIIa |
whg-iris |
1.093 |
F > FMSY |
|
Nephrops in Division VIIa (Irish Sea West. FU 15) |
nep-15 |
1.096 |
F > FMSY |
|
Nephrops in Division VIIa (Irish Sea East. FU 14) |
nep-14 |
1.127 |
F > FMSY |
|
Sole in Divisions VIIf. g (Celtic Sea) |
sol-celt |
1.13 |
F > FMSY |
|
Black-bellied anglerfish in Divisions VIIb,k and VIIIa,b,d |
anb-78ab |
1.168 |
F > FMSY |
|
Haddock in Divisions VIIb.c.e-k |
had-7b-k |
1.297 |
F > FMSY |
|
Cod (Gadus morhua) in Divisions VIIe-k (Western English Channel and Southern Celtic Seas) |
cod-7e-k |
1.506 |
F > FMSY |
|
Cod (Gadus morhua) in Division VIIa (Irish Sea) |
cod-iris |
2.911 |
F > FMSY |
|
Cod (Gadus morhua) in Division VIa (West of Scotland) |
cod-scow |
4.611 |
F > FMSY |
|
Sole in Subarea IV (North Sea) |
sol-nsea |
1.005 |
F > FMSY |
|
Nephrops in Division IVb (Firth of Forth. FU 8) |
nep-8 |
1.031 |
F > FMSY |
|
Cod (Gadus morhua) in Subarea IV and Divisions VIId and IIIa West (North Sea. Eastern English Channel. Skagerrak) |
cod-347d |
1.124 |
F > FMSY |
|
Nephrops in Division IVb (Farn Deeps. FU 6) |
nep-6 |
1.435 |
F > FMSY |
|
Whiting Subarea IV (North Sea) and Division VIId (Eastern Channel) |
whg-47d |
1.513 |
F > FMSY |
|
Sole in Division VIId (Eastern Channel) |
sol-eche |
1.733 |
F > FMSY |
|
Haddock in Subarea IV and Divisions IIIa West and VIa (North Sea. Skagerrak and West of Scotland) |
had-346a |
2.142 |
F > FMSY |
|
Mackerel in the Northeast Atlantic (combined Southern. Western and North Sea spawning components) |
mac-nea |
1.314 |
F > FMSY |
|
Blue whiting in Subareas I-IX. XII and XIV (Combined stock) |
whb-comb |
1.453 |
F > FMSY |
|
Plaice in Division VIIa (Irish Sea) |
ple-iris |
|
Unknown |
|
Nephrops in Divisions IVb and IVc Botney Gut/Silver Pit (FU5) |
nep-05 |
|
Unknown |
|
Whiting in Division VIb (Rockall) |
whg-rock |
|
Unknown |
|
Cod in VIb Rockall Plateau |
cod-rock |
|
Unknown |
|
Pollack (Pollachius pollachius) in Subareas VI-VII (Celtic Seas and the English Channel) |
pol-celt |
|
Unknown |
|
Sprat in Subarea VI and Divisions VIIa-c and f-k (Celtic Sea and West of Scotland) |
spr-celt |
|
Unknown |
|
Megrim (Lepidorhombus spp) in Divisions IVa and VIa |
meg-4a6a |
|
Unknown |
Table 4. National shellfish stocks Fishing Pressure (FP) indicators evaluated in 2012. FP values above 1 show fishing levels (F) above fishing mortality consistent with achieving maximum sustainable yield (FMSY).
|
Stock Description |
Stock code |
FP indicator (2012) |
Fishing sustainability |
|
|
Edible crab North Coast |
ec-nc |
0.5 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
|
Lobster in the Southwest |
lob-sw |
0.969 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
|
Edible crab Papa bank |
ec-pb |
0.5 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
|
Edible crab Shetland |
ec-she |
0.5 |
Sustainably Fished |
|
|
Edible crab in the Western Channel |
ec-echw |
1.049 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Edible crab in the Celtic Sea |
ec-cs |
1.86 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Edible crab Hebrides |
ec-heb |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Edible crab South Minch |
ec-sm |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Lobster Clyde |
lob-cly |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Lobster Hebridies |
lob-heb |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Lobster South Minch |
lob-sm |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Velvet crab Clyde |
vc-cly |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Velvet crab Hebridies |
vc-heb |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Velvet crab South Minch |
vc-sm |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Edible crab East Coast |
ec-ec |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Edible crab Orkney |
ec-ork |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Edible crab Southeast |
ec-se |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Lobster East Coast |
lob-ec |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Lobster Orkney |
lob-ork |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Lobster Papa Bank |
lob-pb |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Lobster South East |
lob-se |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Lobster Shetland |
lob-she |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Velvet crab East Coast |
vc-ec |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Velvet crab Orkney |
vc-ork |
2 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Lobster in East Anglia |
lob-ea |
2.472 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Edible crab in the Central North Sea |
ec-cns |
2.702 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Lobster on the Yorkshire and Humber coast |
lob-hum |
3.138 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Lobster in Northumberland and Durham |
lob-nd |
3.171 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Edible crab in the Southern North Sea |
ec-sns |
3.794 |
F > FMSY |
|
|
Edibly crab Clyde |
ec-cly |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Edible crab Sule |
ec-sul |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Edible crab Ullapool |
ec-ulp |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop Cardigan Bay |
ks-cb |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop Clyde |
ks-cly |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop Celtic Sea |
ks-cs |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop Irish Sea |
ks-iris |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop Northwest |
ks-nw |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop Western Channel North |
ks-wcn |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop Western Channel South |
ks-wcs |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop West of Kintyre |
ks-wok |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Lobster Mallaig |
lob-mal |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Lobster North Coast |
lob-nc |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Lobster Sule |
lob-sul |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Lobster Ullapool |
lob-ulp |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Queen scallop West of Scotland and Irish Sea (VIa and VIIa) |
qs-iris |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Velvet crab Mallaig |
vc-mal |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Velvet crab North Coast |
vc-nc |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Velvet crab Sule |
vc-sul |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Velvet crab Ullapool |
vc-ulp |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Edible crab Mallaig |
ec-mal |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop Central North Sea |
ks-cns |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop East Coast |
ks-ec |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop Eastern Channel North |
ks-ecn |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop Northeast |
ks-ne |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop Orkney |
ks-ork |
|
Unknown |
|
|
King scallop Shetland |
ks-she |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Velvet crab Papa Bank |
vc-pb |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Velvet crab South East |
vc-se |
|
Unknown |
|
|
Velvet crab Shetland |
vc-she |
|
Unknown |
|
Species that are present in the area, but not of commercial importance to UK fisheries (including many elasmobranch stocks) were excluded from this assessment. These stocks are more appropriately considered within the indicators developed for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive on Biological Diversity Descriptor. Historically herring fishing in the Clyde area was important nationally, but there is no current assessment, and uncertainty in the stock identity and its distinctness from herring in the wider and adjacent regions. Therefore, a separate ‘unknown’ entry for Clyde herring has not been made in the indicator. Cod in the north-east Arctic sustains an important level of landings by UK trawlers (approximately 12,000 tonnes in 2015), but given that this is only 1% of the international landings by fisheries targeting the stock and also that the stock is not within European Union waters it was not included in the indicator assessment (notably the stock is in good status with F < FMSY).
Conclusions
The UK Marine Strategy Framework Directive targets (as published in UK Marine Strategy Part One (HM Government 2012) for fishing mortality are that:
- The exploitation of living marine biological resources restores and maintains populations of harvested species at least at levels which can produce maximum sustainable yield. This exploitation rate shall be achieved by 2015, where possible, and by 2020 for all stocks at the latest.
- The exploitation rate of each stock is either at or below FMSY, or within the range of plausible fishing mortalities consistent with FMSY. Where data does not allow FMSY, or FMSY proxies, to be calculated exploitation of each stock will be based on the precautionary approach with limits defined by agreed proxies for sustainable exploitation.
Fishing pressure has decreased on marine fish stocks subject to management through international quota allocations, but not on the national shellfish stocks. Although fishing mortality was above FMSY for many national shellfish stocks (on average 43% in the period 2006 to 2012), the fishing pressure on marine fish stocks decreased greatly such that, in 2015, 53% of fish stocks were exploited at or below levels generating maximum sustainable yield.
Further information
Political commitments to direct fisheries management towards maximum sustainable yield in Europe has contributed to a steady increase in the proportion of fish and shellfish stocks of UK interest exploited at or below FMSY since 1990. In addition, a great decrease in the proportion of stocks of marine fish (28% fewer) and national shellfish (36% fewer) with unknown status was achieved during this period. Consequently, the assessment of fishing pressure indicators revealed no reduction in the proportion of national shellfish stocks fished at target levels, a steady increase in the proportion of marine fish stocks exploited at or below FMSY, and improving status relative to maximum sustainable yield for quota stocks.
Knowledge gaps
Extensive monitoring of fishing pressure over the last three decades indicates that measures established to maintain or restore stocks to sustainable levels have increased the proportion of stocks exploited at or below FMSY. Nevertheless, exploitation rates for 12% of marine fish stocks (in 2015) and 51% of national shellfish stocks (in 2012) with respect to FMSY remained uncertain given the lack of annual fishing mortality estimates and/or target exploitation rates required to evaluate the performance of the maximum sustainable yield management strategy.
Further information
Stock assessments are limited by current data collection and without expansion of monitoring some stocks, particularly shellfish, may remain of unknown status. Nevertheless, stock assessments are conducted for scallop stocks around Scotland and are being developed for other areas. Full analytical assessments (including reference points) were not available at the time of reporting and scallop stocks were thus considered unknown in the analyses.
Some stock units cover a very large spatial area, and migrations of fish between national waters occur. Therefore, assessments based on national waters are linked between countries. The proportion of each stock that is attributable to national waters is unclear given seasonal and temporal changes in spatial distributions of stocks. The relative impact of differing countries management measures on shared stocks is similarly unclear.
Any changes in the productivity of marine ecosystems, linked to changes in prevailing environmental conditions, will likely impact on the population growth rates of stocks and thus the maximum sustainable yield obtainable. In light of such changes, fishing mortality targets may require an adjustment in the future.
References
Cefas (2015a) ‘Lobster (Homarus gammarus)’ Stock Status Report 2014 24 September 2015 (viewed on 23 November 2018)
Cefas (2015b) ‘Edible crab (Cancer pagurus)’ Stock Status Report 2014 24 September 2015 (viewed on 23 November 2018)
Dobby H, Millar S, Blackadder L, Turriff J, McLay A (2012) ‘Scottish Scallop Stocks: Results of 2011 Stock Assessments’ Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Volume 3 No 10 Marine Scotland Science (viewed on 23 November 2018)
European Commission (2008) ‘Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive; MSFD)’ European Parliament and Council of the European Union. Official Journal of the European Union, 164:19-40 (viewed on 21 September 2018)
European Commission (2013) ‘Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/20003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002’ Official Journal of the European Union, 354:2-61 (viewed on 22 November 2018)
HM Government (2012) ‘Marine Strategy Part One: UK Initial Assessment and Good Environmental Status’ (viewed on 5 July 2018)
ICES (2012) ‘ICES Implementation of Advice for Data-limited Stocks in 2012 in its 2012 Advice’ ICES CM 2012/ACOM:68, 42 pages (viewed on 22 November 2018)
ICES (2013) ‘Report of the Workshop to Finalize the ICES Data-limited Stock (DLS) Methodologies Documentation in an Operational Form for the 2013 Advice Season and to make Recommendations on Target Categories for Data-limited Stocks (WKLIFE II), 20–22 November 2012, Copenhagen, Denmark’ ICES CM 2012/ACOM:79, 46 pages (viewed on 22 November 2018)
ICES (2015) ‘Report of the Scallop Assessment Working Group (WGScallop), 6-10 October 2014, Nantes, France’ ICES CM 2014\ACOM:24, 35 pages (viewed on 22 November 2018)
ICES (2016) ‘Report of the Scallop Assessment Working Group (WGScallop)’ ICES CM 2015/ACOM:23, 40 pages (viewed on 23 November 2018)
ICES (2016a) ‘General context of ICES advice’ ICES Advice 2016, Book 1, Section 1.2. pages 1-15 (viewed on 22 November 2018)
ICES (2016b) ‘Report of the Workshop to consider FMSY ranges for stocks in ICES categories 1 and 2 in Western Waters (WKMSYREF4), 13–16 October 2015, Brest, France’ ICES CM 2015/ACOM:58, 187 pages (viewed on 22 November 2018)
ICES (2016c) ‘Report of the Workshop to consider MSY proxies for stocks in ICES category 3 and 4 stocks in Western Waters (WKProxy), 3–6 November 2015, ICES Headquarters, Copenhagen’ ICES CM 2015/ACOM:61, 183 pages (viewed on 22 November 2018)
Lassen H, Kelly C and Sissenwine M (2014) ‘ICES advisory framework 1977-2012: from Fmax to precautionary approach and beyond’ ICES Journal of Marine Science 71: 166–172 (viewed on 23 November 2018)
Mesquita C, Dobby H, McLay A (2016) ‘Crab and Lobster Fisheries in Scotland: Results of Stock Assessments 2009 – 2012’ Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Volume 7 No 9. Marine Scotland Science (viewed on 22 November 2018)
Acknowledgements
Assessment metadata
| Assessment Type | UK MSFD Indicator Assessment |
|---|---|
D3.1 Commercial fishing pressure for stocks of UK interest | |
| Point of contact email | marinestrategy@defra.gov.uk |
| Metadata date | Thursday, August 1, 2019 |
| Title | Commercial fishing pressure for stocks of UK interest |
| Resource abstract | This indicator measures progress towards the objective that populations of all commercially exploited fish and shellfish are fished below maximum sustainable yield. |
| Linkage | This dataset summarises stock assessment advice for quota fish stocks and national shellfish stocks. These files contain data quantifying annual recruitment, biomass, stock size, landings, catches, discards, industrial bycatch, fishing pressure (fishing pressure mean, ranges, and estimated pressure accountable to landings, discards and bycatch) and stock indicators (Flim fisheries mortality that if exceeded would result in the stock falling below Blim, Blim spawning stock Biomass at the limit reference point, Fpa level of catches that if exceeded would result in the stock falling below Bpa, Bpa spawning stock Biomass in relation to the precautionary approach, Fpa, FMSY Maximum sustainable yield, BMSY Maximum sustainable yield biomass trigger) for various fish stocks (fish species in given ICES regions). |
| Conditions applying to access and use | © Crown 2018 copyright Defra, licenced under the Open Government Licence (OGL). |
| Assessment Lineage | These data are used to determine the indicator D3.1 Commercial fishing pressure for stocks of UK interest and D3.2 Reproductive capacity of commercially exploited stocks of UK interest. Data processing is carried out by landmark on the CEFMAT interface, as per an r script created collaboratively between Christopher Lynam, Zachary Radford and Joseph Ribeiro (Cefas). |
| Dataset metadata | This indicator summarises stock assessment advice for quota fish stocks and national shellfish stocks. The input data for quota fish stocks arise from the ICES stock assessment database http://standardgraphs.ices.dk/stockList.aspx, while the data for national shellfish stocks arise from Marine Scotland and Cefas assessments (see links in References). The UK_ICES_fish_stock_and_shellfish_stock_assessment_data_2017.csv is modified from the ICES stock assessment database. Appended to this is the UK national shellfish stocks data, which were taken from assessment reports provided by Cefas and Marine Scotland. In the dataset, the first column “ICES” identifies those stocks that originate from the ICES stock assessment database with the entry “Y”. The SPiCT_Stock data2_281117.csv contains ICES stock assessment model outputs. SPiCT refers to 'Stochastic Production model in Continuous Time', the model used to produce outputs for data limited stocks. These data were not released online by ICES when this data were collated (12/09/2017), but instead downloaded directly by www.stockassessment.org (Casper Berg, DTU-Aqua) to Cefas on 08 June 2016. The SPiCT_Stock data2_281117.csv contains ICES stock assessment model outputs. SPiCT refers to 'Stochastic Production model in Continuous Time', the model used to produce outputs for data limited stocks. These data were not released online by ICES when this data were collated (12/09/2017), but instead downloaded directly by www.stockassessment.org (Casper Berg, DTU-Aqua) to Cefas on 08 June 2016. |
| Links to datasets identifiers | Please, see doi below |
| Dataset DOI |
The Metadata are “data about the content, quality, condition, and other characteristics of data” (FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata Workbook, Ver 2.0, May 1, 2000).
Metadata definitions
Assessment Lineage - description of data sets and method used to obtain the results of the assessment
Dataset – The datasets included in the assessment should be accessible, and reflect the exact copies or versions of the data used in the assessment. This means that if extracts from existing data were modified, filtered, or otherwise altered, then the modified data should be separately accessible, and described by metadata (acknowledging the originators of the raw data).
Dataset metadata – information on the data sources and characteristics of data sets used in the assessment (MEDIN and INSPIRE compliance).
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) – a persistent identifier to provide a link to a dataset (or other resource) on digital networks. Please note that persistent identifiers can be created/minted, even if a dataset is not directly available online.
Indicator assessment metadata – data and information about the content, quality, condition, and other characteristics of an indicator assessment.
MEDIN discovery metadata - a list of standardized information that accompanies a marine dataset and allows other people to find out what the dataset contains, where it was collected and how they can get hold of it.
Recommended reference for this indicator assessment
Lynam, C.P.1, Radford, Z.1, Ribeiro, J.1, Engelhard, G.1, Firmin, C1, Dobby, H.2, Mesquita, C.2, Bluemel, J.1, Bell, E.1, & O'Brien, C.1 2018. Commercial fishing pressure for stocks of UK interest. UK Marine Online Assessment Tool, available at: https://moat.cefas.co.uk/pressures-from-human-activities/commercial-fish-and-shellfish/fishing-pressure/
1Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
2Marine Scotland