North Sea Herring Fisheries Management Plan

Executive Summary

The North Sea herring Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) is one of 43 FMPs set out in the Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). It has been developed by the Scottish Government, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) with input from industry, scientists, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs).

This FMP sets out the policies and actions to manage the North Sea herring stock at sustainable levels, ensuring that it can continue to play a key role in providing positive socio-economic benefits to the UK, whilst also setting out a number of actions to improve management where this is needed.

This FMP relates to North Sea Autumn Spawning (NSAS) herring (Clupea harengus) fishery in UK waters, which consists of the International Council for the Explorations of the Seas (ICES) subarea 4 and division 7d. It has been developed in line the with fisheries objectives of the Marine Scotland Fisheries Act 2020 (the 2020 Act) and as required by the JFS.

Overall management of this fishery is shared with coastal State partners. This international context is important to understand when considering sustainability and wider management issues. Fishing opportunities for NSAS herring are managed by total allowable catches (TACs). The setting of TACs can be an effective way of managing fishing pressure on fish stocks. TACs and other joint management measures are agreed through international negotiations which are guided by the best available scientific advice, whilst also balancing environmental, social, and economic factors.

NSAS herring is a pelagic stock caught mainly as part of a directed pelagic fishery within UK waters and also outside of UK waters. NSAS is of key commercial importance within UK waters, with the landed value by the UK fleet reaching £80 million in 2024. It is a stock which has sufficient evidence to assess maximum sustainable yield^[1] (MSY).

The NSAS herring relevant for this FMP is currently fished sustainably within MSY limits.

This FMP therefore describes a vision with policies and actions which set out how management can continue to support an MSY approach for the NSAS herring fishery, and highlights areas that could lead to refinements to management approaches in the future. Areas for action include those which support the wider delivery of policies within the JFS and which contribute to the delivery of the objectives contained within the 2020 Act.