Fishing - Clyde Seasonal Closure: partial business and regulatory impact assessment

Section One: Background, aims and options

Background

Since 2002, a specific area in the Firth of Clyde was closed to fishing each year between 14 February and 30 April to protect spawning cod. This was implemented by a Scottish Statutory Instrument (SSI) annually until 2009, and on a biennial basis since.

Exemptions were previously provided for Nephrops trawlers, creel vessels and scallop dredgers in the area due to the low amounts of cod they catch, but removed in 2022 and 2023 on the basis that research suggested any activity within 10 metres of the seabed potentially impacts on spawning activity. Removing all fishing activity during the spawning period was considered the best way to maximise protection and minimise disturbance, thus contributing to cod stock recovery in the Clyde.

To help balance environmental protection with the livelihoods of local fishers, the 2022 closure was refined – reducing the restricted area by approximately 28% compared to previous years. This adjustment was informed by the best available scientific data on seabed substrate, in combination with valuable input from local fishing communities. Cod are understood to prefer spawning on harder seabed types such as coarse sand and gravel, while they are less likely to use softer sediments like mud and sand. The revised closure focused protection on these higher-quality spawning habitats, while allowing continued fishing access in surrounding areas considered less likely to support active spawning. This approach aimed to support cod recovery while minimising unnecessary disruption due to fishing.

Informed by the outcomes of the summer 2023 consultation, The Sea Fish (Prohibition on Fishing) (Firth of Clyde) Order 2024^[1] was laid continuing the same closure area and duration for 2024 and 2025, without exemptions.

Aim and rationale

As managers of Scotland’s shared marine resource, our collective goal, guided by our Fisheries Management Strategy^[2] is to ensure the long-term health and productivity of marine ecosystems, while supporting the jobs, communities, and industries that rely on them. Around 80% of Scotland’s approximately 2000 registered fishing vessels operate in our increasingly busy inshore waters, with different users competing for access. Therefore, it is vital that the Scottish Government develops fit for purpose systems of management that balance our environmental and economic responsibilities in-line with our obligations under the Fisheries Act 2020^[3].

Despite efforts to protect and enhance cod in this area via the Clyde Seasonal Closure, it has shown little signs of recovery. We believe that without a better understanding of this stock we will not be able to make decisions about whether the closure is in the correct place, at the correct time; and what other options may be open to support stock recovery in the longer term.

The Scottish Government are mindful of the challenges arising from management of the Clyde Seasonal Closure and the need to balance environmental protections with the socio-economic wellbeing of fishing businesses and the communities that rely on them.

Through the accompanying consultation, we are seeking stakeholders’ views on the current approach, as well as suggestions for improving both management measures and the evidence base that supports them ahead of 2026.

Options

Stakeholder opinion on the Clyde Seasonal Closure is diverse. Some would like to see environmental protections go further, while others perceive long-lasting damage to fishing businesses reliant on the Clyde brought about by further restrictions. As such, we are seeking stakeholders’ views on a variety of options, including an opportunity to set out alternative and complimentary approaches.

Option One – “do the minimum”

This option is to maintain current measures and reinstate the Clyde Seasonal Closure by statutory instrument for 2026 and 2027, using the same location and duration as in 2025, without exemptions^[4]. This option represents the baseline level of action

Option Two

Implement a Targeted Scientific Programme (TSP) from January 2026. Reinstate the Clyde Seasonal Closure via SSI for the duration of the TSP from 2026 until 2028, in the same location and for the same duration as 2025, with no exemptions.

The TSP could potentially include:

• A more regular programme of surveys (working with appropriately monitored local creel and trawl vessels) throughout the Clyde area to improve our understanding of abundance, stock structure, sediment disturbance and bycatch in creel fisheries.
• Progressing an acoustic monitoring programme, using fishers’ knowledge to identify suitable sites to improving understanding of distribution and abundance of spawning cod both inside and outside the closure area.
• Expand upon Ana Adao’s research by assessing how newly collected data can enhance the Clyde stock assessment model^[5], helping to support more responsive and evidence-based decision-making specifically for this stock.

Option Three

Return to the original Clyde Seasonal Closure location as it was between 2002 and 2020, including the larger area and exemptions for certain fishing methods. The South Arran MPA and management areas would be unaffected^[6].

Other options

While we have set out a series of options for stakeholders, we are open to alternative proposals or additional complementary measures for the Clyde Seasonal Closure. These could include (but are not restricted to); altering the area of the closure, the duration of the closure or imposing other technical controls.

Sectors / Groups affected

All options will primarily affect the fishing industry, either via short term restrictions to their fishing patterns or by longer term deleterious effects on the marine environment on which they rely.

All proposed options could have wider implications for fish-processing businesses, either due to reduced supply during the closure period or through longer-term effects on stock sustainability.