Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment on Pelagic Fisheries Management Plans

Introduction

The Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS), as required by the Fisheries Act 2020 (the 2020 Act), sets out how the UK fisheries authorities (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland^[1]) will prepare and publish 43 Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) by 2026 for the Scottish-led FMPs, with some of the remaining plans led by the other UK fisheries authorities published by 2028^[2].

The plans bring together the evidence on the state of the stocks and identify measures and actions necessary to improve the evidence base and manage our fisheries in a sustainable way. Policies in an FMP set out both the short-term actions and longer-term vision for the management of the fishery.

This assessment is being undertaken alongside a public consultation on five proposed pelagic FMPs, jointly developed by the following UK fisheries authorities: Scottish Government, Welsh Government (two of the plans), Defra and DAERA. Further information is sought in the consultation regarding additional economic evidence to update this assessment before the publication of final pelagic FMPs.

This partial BRIA describes the anticipated economic impact of the five pelagic FMPs on the fishing sector and associated businesses.

This assessment document covers the following five pelagic FMPs:

• Proposed North Sea herring FMP
• Proposed West Coast of Scotland (and Clyde) herring FMP
• Proposed Atlanto Scandian herring FMP
• Proposed Northern Shelf mackerel FMP
• Proposed Northern Shelf blue whiting FMP

Catch limits in the form of Total Allowable Catches (TACs) are set annually, informed for the majority of these stocks by scientific advice from ICES. Some of the pelagic FMPs cover more than one ICES advice area and/or TAC, and for some stocks, a single ICES advice sheet may feed into more than one UK quota. These are explained further within the FMPs.

ICES provides annual catch advice for majority of the pelagic stocks which are subject to these FMPs. ICES advice is organised according to categories, ranging from 1 (the most information available) to 6 (the least). Additionally, benchmark exercises are used by ICES to evaluate existing and new scientific evidence and methods and, where relevant, apply them in the stock assessment process. They are part of the continuous improvement process which ensures that ICES advice is based on the best available scientific evidence.

The list below is based on the ICES assessment framework available at the point of drafting the FMPs:

1. North Sea herring - Category 1*

2. West Coast of Scotland (and Clyde) herring - WoS herring is a Category 3 **; for the Clyde herring, there is no ICES advice produced, and no MSY reference points available.

3. Atlanto Scandian herring – Category 1*

4. Northern Shelf mackerel – Category 1***

5. Northern Shelf blue whiting - Category 1 ***

(* ) The stock has a high level of data available and there is sufficient available scientific evidence for the relevant fisheries policy authorities to make annual MSY assessments for this stock. This includes stocks with quantitative (Category 1) or qualitative (Category 2) assessments.

(**) The relevant fisheries policy authorities do not have sufficient evidence to make an assessment of MSY reference points for the stock, although the advice and management approach follows the ICES framework for Category 3 (stocks for which survey-based assessments indicate trends) or Category 6 (negligible landings stocks and stocks caught as minor amounts as bycatch).

(***) The relevant stock has a high level of data available; however, fishing pressure is above FMSY and the stock is not currently being fished within MSY constraints. This is largely due to the lack of robust quota sharing arrangements across the relevant international fishing parties.

In 2024, Pelagic fisheries were the most valuable fisheries in the UK with the total value landed by the UK fleet totalling £521 million, of which 51% (£265 million) was landed into the UK.^[3] Of these, northern shelf mackerel is the most commercially important species, with a value of £394 million in 2024, 76% of the total value of species covered by these FMPs. A breakdown by specific FMP is included below in Table 1.

Source: SG internal fisheries management data, August 2025. Figures may differ from the published UK sea fisheries annual statistics report 2024.

Source: SG internal fisheries management data, August 2025. Figures may differ from the published UK sea fisheries annual statistics report 2024.

Climate change is reshaping pelagic fish distributions, productivity and ecosystem interactions, creating significant challenges for fisheries management systems which are largely based on historical conditions (Baudron et al., 2020; Townhill et al., 2023). Ecological shifts have important implications for marine food webs, linking lower and upper trophic levels, meaning changes in their abundance or distribution can have cascading ecosystem effects. Pelagic fisheries increasingly require ecosystem based management, particularly for forage species such as herring and sprat (ICES, 2023).

The five pelagic FMPs set out policies and actions relating to the stocks which are to be implemented in a way that is consistent with, and supportive of, the wider achievement of the fisheries objectives set out in the 2020 Act, the policies contained within the JFS and other legislative commitments.

These plans also identify evidence gaps and consider research for the species they cover to enhance current management and ensure that sustainability is maintained.

The FMPs describe an overview of the current fisheries for pelagic species in UK waters as well as providing information on available stock assessments, maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and stock biology.