Herring in the Firth of Clyde: recommending the total allowable catch for 2025: Consultation

1. Introduction

The Scottish Government is undertaking a consultation in relation to the 2025 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for herring in the Firth of Clyde.

The Clyde herring stock is defined as the stock in the maritime area situated to the north-east of a line drawn between the Mull of Kintyre (55° 17,9′ N, 05° 47,8′ W), a point at position (55° 04′ N, 05° 23′ W), and Corsewall Point (55° 00,5′ N, 05° 09,4′ W). This area is shown in section 4.

The Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government is carrying out this consultation on behalf of the UK Fisheries Administrations, to seek views on the level of the 2025 TAC. Following consideration of the consultation responses, the Scottish Government will make a recommendation to the UK Secretary of State. A determination on the TAC level will subsequently be made by the Secretary of State.

1.1 Requirements for determining the Total Allowable Catch (TAC)

As set out in Annex 36 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the Clyde herring stock is present only in UK waters, and is not a shared stock with the EU. Clyde herring is located exclusively in Scottish waters.

Setting the TAC for Clyde herring is therefore the sole responsibility of the UK. It should be noted that, similarly, responsibility for setting the Clyde herring TAC was delegated to the UK by the EU prior to 2021, in line with Article 6 of the EU TAC and Quota Regulation (Council Regulation (EU) 2020/123).

1.2 Control measures, data collection and sampling

Current knowledge of the Clyde stock is uncertain due to the limited data available. Accordingly, there is currently no ICES stock assessment of the Clyde herring stock.

To inform TAC setting, scientists within the Marine Directorate produce an annual Clyde herring science report based on research survey and fisheries data (included in section 6). This includes data from the Q1 and Q4 Scottish West Coast Groundfish Survey (SCOWCGFS).

The Scottish Government has national and international commitments to protect marine biodiversity, and marine ecosystems. The Scottish Government is committed to the sustainable management of fisheries, which includes protecting biodiversity and healthy functioning ecosystems. As fishery managers, we must act responsibly even in the absence of comprehensive scientific information.

The Marine Directorate introduced additional control measures and a data collection and sampling programme in 2011. This was implemented through new licence conditions in order to improve our knowledge and management of the stock. A full list of the requirements in place can be found in section 5, and supporting information from the Marine Directorate scientists is given in section 6.

1.3 Historic TAC and uptake

TAC and landings data since 2011 are as follows:

* Estimated to be at a low level, currently unknown.

**In 2022, there was increased uncertainty regarding the state of the Clyde herring stock due to the breakdown of a survey vessel, which meant that the Q1 survey could not take place. Considering the best available scientific information and the views submitted through the consultation process, the TAC was set at 466 tonnes, a 20% reduction on the 2021 TAC, following the principle of a precautionary buffer. This mirrored the approach taken by ICES for some category 3-6 stocks, when the stock status is unknown, and balanced the arguments for rolling over or increasing the TAC, with the arguments for setting a 0 or de minimis TAC.