North Sea Herring Fisheries Management Plan

Policy 4: Identify and support implementation of ecosystem-based fisheries management approaches appropriate for the NSAS herring fisheries

Rationale

This policy is in accordance with section 4 (‘Delivering Sustainable Management of Fisheries’) of the JFS.

A thriving fishing industry is underpinned by healthy and productive seas. As set out in the JFS and the Act, the UK and Scottish Governments are committed to an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management that will account for, and seek to minimise, impacts on non-commercial species and the marine environment. This also links to existing initiatives such as the Bycatch Mitigation Initiative and Clean Catch UK.

Understanding and minimising these impacts is an important part of delivering an ecosystem-based approach. The fishing industry has taken a number of steps over previous years to try and mitigate against this, for example by using more selective fishing gears, or trialling new tools to reduce bycatch of non-fish species and seabirds. The conservation advice that supports this FMP has identified some impacts and evidence gaps that need to be addressed in order to ensure that the risk posed by pelagic fishing to the wider marine ecosystem is minimised. In particular, conservation advice has flagged the need for an improved evidence base around bycatch levels In some cases, action is already being taken, and there are a range of policies and initiatives already in place or in development across the UK which contribute to this. Conservation advice recognises pelagic species, including NSAS herring, as integral parts of the wider food web. ICES does not fully account for these interactions and the need of predators in its annual advice, however actions are identified to improve consideration of ecosystem interactions when making management decisions.

Actions

Ongoing actions

• Continue to monitor levels of bycatch in pelagic trawl fisheries through REM, to improve understanding of risk and to support appropriate management if required.
• Continue to promote existing good practice within the fishing industry in relation to handling of sensitive marine species and returning them to the sea unharmed, where practical to do so.

Short-term actions (one to two years)

• Work with UK experts to consider the ecological role of pelagic species in the North Sea and West of Scotland, and how an ecosystem-based approach could be integrated into fisheries management.

Medium to long term actions (three to five years)

• Work with ICES to consider further developing ecosystem-informed assessments and ecosystem modelling approaches in the future.

Relevant Fisheries Act objectives

The relevant Fisheries Act objectives are the:

• sustainability objective
• ecosystem objective
• bycatch objective