UK and European Fisheries

Fishing must be one of the oldest activities undertaken by humans. The seas around our shores should provide a rich source of food, provide a livelihood for fishers and their dependant communities and should support rich and diverse wildlife. However, without proper management, human activities could place all of these at risk. This site provides some background to current fisheries around the UK, their effects on the marine environment and aspects of fisheries management.

Fishing vessels alongside at Eyemouth
(David Donnan, SNH) © 2002

From a fishing point of view, the main source of legislation used to manage human activities in the seas of Europe is the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). In recent years the CFP has undergone a review as it was proving ineffective. For example, cod stocks are on the verge of collapse and the old policy did not address the effects that fishing has on the marine environment. In January 2003, a new CFP was announced. The main changes included:

A long term approach to stock management and maintenance with the adoption of an ecosystem approach to management and the use of the precautionary principle
Reduction in overall fleet capacity
Decentralisation of management through the adoption of a Regional Seas approach enabling stakeholder involvement through the Regional Advisory Councils (RACs)
Environmental protection requirements and a reduction in bycatch

The ecosystem approach to management enables multi-species management. This is particularly important for many demersal fisheries which are comprised of mixed groups of species rather than single species populations. Such an approach also enables the environmental impact of fishing and subsequent knock-on effects in the biological community to be taken into account. A long term approach to management will enable the development of multi-annual recovery plans for stocks outside safe biological limits. These can be tailored to individual species. Such a plan has already been put in place for cod in the North Sea.

These pages provide some information on fisheries at present and set out the views of the UK statutory nature conservation agencies on fishing management, practice, policy and conservation.