North Sea Nephrops: proposed Fisheries Management Plan

FMP policies

In developing the policies and actions for this FMP, the relevant fisheries policy authorities have considered the current policy landscape including applicable international agreements and declarations, conservation advice and wider policy development underway, in addition to considering what additional evidence, measures or policies may be needed to support both the vision of this FMP and delivery of the fisheries objectives. In most cases, individual actions within this FMP will directly link to one or more of the fisheries objectives and these links are made below. FMPs are one of the tools that support the achievement of the fisheries objectives, although they are not the only policy vehicle available to do this. The fisheries policy authorities have also considered the conservation advice received from the SNCBs and included the outputs from that work in considering where policy action may be needed.

This FMP has been developed with regard for the prevailing Marine Plans in place in England and Scotland.

As part of developing the new national marine plan for Scotland, the relationship between marine spatial planning and FMPs will also be considered, and how these policies can work in a joined-up way to ensure more effective use of the marine space and resources.

Consideration will also be given to the objectives and principles outlined in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) when considering implementing fisheries management measures.

In Scotland, these policies will help achieve the outcomes set out in the Good Food Nation Plan, and its vision of Scotland becoming “a Good Food Nation, where people from every walk of life take pride and pleasure in, and benefit from, the food they produce, buy, cook, serve, and eat each day”.

In the conservation advice issues around marine litter were identified. In Scotland a range of actions are undertaken to address issues with marine litter, as set out in the Marine Litter Strategy for Scotland^[26] and these will continue to be delivered as part of a separate programme of work.

In most cases further policy development work will be needed for any new actions, which could include further evidence gathering or public consultation, along with the completion of appropriate impact assessments.

Policy 1: Harvest the North Sea Nephrops stock sustainably, with biomass maintained above the level capable of producing MSY.

Rationale

There is sufficient evidence to assess MSY for FUs 6, 7, 8 and 9 contained within this FMP. Therefore, this FMP is required to set out policies designed to restore or maintain fish stocks to sustainable levels or contribute to the restoration or maintenance at sustainable levels. This is in line with section 6(3)(a) of the 2020 Act.

There is an insufficient evidence base for North Sea Nephrops outside functional units, and Nephrops within FUs 10, 34, and 5. Therefore for those specific areas, this FMP falls under section 6(3)(b) of the 2020 Act. That section of the Act requires the fisheries policy authorities to specify policies for maintaining or increasing levels of the stock, and to specify steps to improve the scientific evidence (or provide reasons why no steps are proposed).

As already set out within the FMP, the fisheries policy authorities manage North Sea Nephrops on an overarching basis, and actions to ensure overall sustainable management across the North Sea are in place. This is generally achieved through the setting of a TAC alongside appropriate technical management measures. There are no current plans in place to improve the evidence base for those areas where current evidence is poor, rather scientific resources are concentrated on those Nephrops FUs of most importance commercially and socially.

The role of fisheries managers is to help ensure stocks are harvested sustainably, in order to protect the long-term viability of the stocks and the fishing communities which depend upon them. This helps to ensure that fish stocks remain productive and can support socio-economic outcomes and wider ecosystem objectives for future generations.

The use of TACs is a fundamental part of sustainable management and helps to ensure that the fishing pressure in the harvesting of Nephrops is kept within sustainable levels, whilst also taking account of relevant socio-economic factors. This is consistent with the sustainability objective of the 2020 Act. Nonetheless, ICES recommends that management should be implemented at FU level. Transfer of advised catch from other FUs to an explicit FU can lead to overexploitation. This suggests that further consideration of a move towards FU management may be needed and this will be considered as part of the actions under this FMP.

There are a number of options for taking this work forward, and due process, including thorough consultation with stakeholders and international partners, will need to be followed to ensure full consideration of impacts and costs versus benefits. The actions below are intended to set out a path for considering the most appropriate management options for Nephrops in the future. This includes considering the potential for continuing to manage using the current approach, full TAC management at FU level (with TAC levels varying between FU area), or using a technical measure ‘toolbox’ approach, whereby a pre-determined set of measures – deemed to be appropriate for the fisheries in question – are triggered by stocks reaching agreed reference points.

As part of this, developing a harvest strategy which is related to stock level reference points (e.g. MSY_Btrigger) could allow for more agile management of the fisheries by enacting measures only when scientific evidence suggests that action needs to be taken to maintain or improve stocks in a specific area. The impact of such options would need to be considered as part of any consultation, particularly in reference to impact on local fleets with limited scope for movement outside of the FU area.

In addition to the proposed work in relation to management options, in Scotland a programme of work is under development, known as the Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement (IFMI) programme. This work will develop a new inshore fisheries management framework that is more agile, sustainable and makes decisions based on the most up to date evidence. This aims to transition to a regional model that better engages stakeholders who rely on these fisheries. This work is relevant to those fishing vessels fishing for Nephrops in inshore areas.

Ongoing actions

• Continue to take an approach to TAC setting informed by the best available scientific advice and in line with an MSY approach for those functional units with MSY advice.
• Continue to work with Coastal State partners with the aim of maintaining sustainable harvesting through international negotiations.

Short-term actions (one to two years)

• Undertake an in-depth options appraisal for potential FU management of Nephrops, exploring available options, opportunities, impacts, consequences and cost / benefit analysis.
• Consider options around setting limits and MSY reference points at a stock level (for FUs and areas outside of FUs).
• As part of the options appraisal, consider development of an appropriate harvest strategy for each FU, alongside the development of suitable measures which could be adapted to each FU, and which may be available for use in a stock depletion / collapse scenario should this occur in the future.
• Consider the circumstances under which quota management measures should be applied, how they should be appraised and what the measures should be.
• Consult on options for management.
• Continue to develop the Scottish Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement (IFMI) programme in consultation with stakeholders, to deliver a more agile, regional approach to inshore fisheries management

Long-term actions (three to five years)

• Work with the fishing industry and other stakeholders to implement changes if required following the FU options appraisal process.

Relevant Fisheries Act objectives

• Sustainability objective
• Precautionary objective
• Scientific objective
• Ecosystem objective

Policy 2: Understand and minimise the benthic impact of Nephrops fisheries.

Rationale

All forms of fishing have an impact on the marine environment and marine ecosystems to varying degrees, whether through the removal of target fish species, incidental bycatch of non-target fish or other marine species, or seabed interaction. Managing benthic impact of fisheries is an integral component of the 2020 Act ecosystem objective and is a key delivery component under the UK Marine Strategy. Given the number of complimentary policies and strategies already in place to manage benthic impact of mobile fishing activities, the FMP focuses on:

• Supporting the implementation of associated policies and initiatives already underway, and;
• Building the evidence base on the impact of Nephrops fisheries on benthic habitats, PMFs, and vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) to inform better management in the future.

Key evidence gaps exist regarding the benthic impact of Nephrops fisheries, and these will require the support of the fishing industry and wider academic and science community in order to be addressed. Addressing these gaps will enable better management in alignment with the policies and strategies outlined above and would support achievement of GES. Actions also relate to broader work already underway to understand and mitigate the impact of fishing on benthic habitats.

Short-term actions (one to two years)

• Continue to implement fisheries management measures for existing MPAs where these are not already in place, as well as the most sensitive PMFs^[27] in Scottish inshore waters.
• Collaborate across the UK to implement the UK Marine Strategy Programme of Measures (POM).
• Support and enable the fishing industry to explore alternative gear options that can help reduce benthic impacts through the provision of funding or licence derogations, building on the positive work already carried out in this area.

Medium to long-term actions (three to five years)

• Develop understanding of where Nephrops fishing activity is taking place by gathering data at suitable spatial resolution and across all parts of the fleet. This will be supported by the rollout of inshore vessel tracking to the under 12m fishing fleet that is already underway.

• Support research on benthic habitats aiming at informing future management actions, including a) research to better understand the spatial extent of sensitive benthic habitats and the overlap with Nephrops fishing activity; b) investigating the direct impacts caused by Nephrops fishing gear on benthic habitats and c) research to understand the resilience of benthic habitats to Nephrops fishing activity and their ability to recover.

Relevant Fisheries Act objectives

• ecosystem objective
• sustainability objective
• scientific evidence objective

Policy 3: Minimise the impact of Nephrops fishing activities on sensitive marine species by reducing bycatch and entanglement of these species.

Rationale

Nephrops fisheries present a potential bycatch risk to a number of sensitive marine species, including cetaceans and basking sharks (by entanglement in static gears), and flapper skate (by accidental capture in mobile gears). Entanglement is more of an issue in the West of Scotland due to the prevalence of creel fishing in that area.

Mitigating interactions with sensitives species is a priority of several initiatives already including work within the fisheries policy authorities to reduce unwanted catches of non-fish bycatch such as seabirds, seals, and cetaceans. The UK Marine Wildlife Bycatch Mitigation Initiative^[28] outlines steps to reduce bycatch of sensitive marine species including elasmobranchs (sharks, skates, and rays).

Short-term actions (one to two years)

• Introduce additional voluntary and mandatory bycatch avoidance measures where these are needed. In Scotland, this will be taken forward as part of the Future Catching Policy programme of work.
• Continue to support the fishing industry to take action to reduce instances of entanglement and bycatch of sensitive marine species, particularly focussed on entanglements in creel fisheries.
• Support and expand existing initiatives that are shown to be effective at reducing or minimising the risk posed to sensitive marine species specific to Nephrops fisheries. This could include gear modifications such as negatively buoyant ropes between creels, ropeless creel gears, selectivity devices in trawls, or could focus on remedial action such as best practice handling guidance for when interactions do occur.

Medium to long-term actions (three to five years)

• Continue to collect data under the UK Marine Wildlife Bycatch Mitigation Initiative to improve understanding of risk and frequency of sensitive species interactions.
• Continue to deliver actions under the UK Marine Wildlife Bycatch Mitigation Initiative to reduce the risk, frequency and impact of fisheries on sensitive marine species including seabirds.
• Collaborate across the UK to develop policy to reduce/eliminate sensitive marine species bycatch in the UK through regular information sharing across Devolved Governments, and collaborative working on projects.
• Continue to collect data in the Scottish whitefish and prawn trawler fleets through the Scottish Demersal Observer Programme to improve understanding of risk and frequency of sensitive species interactions, and the effectiveness of existing mitigation and avoidance measures, where applicable.

Relevant Fisheries Act objectives

• ecosystem objective
• sustainability objective
• bycatch objective

Policy 4: Address discarding issues in the Nephrops fisheries and ensure that where possible all catches are accounted for against quotas.

Rationale

Reducing bycatch and unwanted catch across all fisheries is already a policy priority under a number of different initiatives. There is a legislative requirement to land all quota species of fish, including Nephrops, under the landing obligation, and for fishers to ensure that all catches are counted and recorded. UK fisheries policy authorities have different approaches in place or in development to improve the operation of the current legislation and the recording of catches, and this includes the rollout of new technology including REM. Actions to support improved accountability and recording of catches are outlined below.

There has been research on bycatch issues in Nephrops trawl fisheries with 32 documented selectivity trials over the last 20 years. From these several gear modifications or selectivity devices have already become a legal requirement. This includes technical measures such as different cod-end configurations, square mesh panels, and inclined panels. There continues to be scope for improvement, particularly in relation to those vessels that operate in the mixed Nephrops and whitefish fisheries, and the actions below aim to support innovation in fishing gear technology and increase uptake of the most effective gear modifications or selectivity devices, in alignment with other relevant legislation. Making it easier for fishermen (and scientists) to trial and then adopt gear modifications will help reduce bycatch and meet national goals.

Short-term actions (one to two years)

• Subject to appropriate consultation and assessment, introduce new technical measures to minimise discarding by supporting a reduction in unwanted catches through improvements to gear selectivity or fishing techniques where appropriate
• Deliver improvements to the current management and rules to ensure that, wherever possible, all catches are accounted for against quotas. In Scotland this will take place as part of the Future Catching Policy programme of work.

Medium to long-term actions (three to five years)

• Develop a roadmap for rollout of REM in priority fisheries around the UK, with clear prioritisation criteria and implementation timetable.
• Fisheries policy authorities will continue to work with industry and other stakeholders to promote the use of selective fishing gear and fishing techniques that have a reduced impact on the environment.

Relevant Fisheries Act objectives

• bycatch objective
• scientific evidence objective
• sustainability objective

Policy 5: Support fishing businesses to continue to deliver socio-economic benefits to coastal communities and the wider UK economy.

Rationale

Nephrops are an important species to fishers due to its accessibility around the coast to all vessels, as well as its high value to both domestic and international markets.

Appropriate management will ensure long-term sustainable, social, and economic benefits across the entire Nephrops supply chain. Understanding the current socio-economic landscape of Nephrops fisheries is fundamental in identifying key areas that require further support, to maximise benefits to the supply chain.

Many in the fishing industry recognise the need to promote the principles of fair work within their businesses, and whilst this isn’t included as a specific action within the FMP, the fisheries policy authorities are supportive of efforts to improve standards within the sector in order to create and promote positive and safe working conditions.

Ongoing actions

• Continue to take account of socio-economic considerations as part of international negotiations and as part of the process to determine fishing opportunities.
• Continue to gather and use evidence on economic aspects of the fisheries to ensure management decisions are informed by the best available evidence.
• Support the fishing industry to explore and utilise accreditation schemes where these will help to drive improvements in management.
• Encourage and support industry-led initiatives to: improve the operational effectiveness of fishing vessels while maintaining a commitment to sustainability; identify circular economy benefits; encourage diversification into additional fisheries; and support proposals that create sustainable employment in coastal communities.

Medium to long-term actions (three to five years)

• Consider enhancing social and economic data

Relevant Fisheries Act objectives

• national benefit objective
• equal access objective
• sustainability objective

Policy 6: Reduce the impact of Nephrops fishing on climate change and support the fishing industry to adapt to the impacts of climate change

Rationale

The JFS sets out the UK’s approach to implementing the climate change objective by identifying and supporting changes to adapt to and mitigate against climate change, including reducing emissions across the fishing industry to support decarbonisation. It also recognises the importance of protecting and restoring blue carbon habitats to support resilience to climate change, whilst ensuring a commitment to work with the scientific community to develop the evidence base.

Whilst the overall contribution made by Nephrops fishing vessels to carbon emissions is relatively small, improving the understanding of the carbon footprint in Nephrops fisheries, as well as mitigating and reducing emissions from the Nephrops supply chain will help the industry contribute to national and global goals to combat climate change and to meeting net-zero commitments.

Medium to long-term actions ( three to five years)

• Collaborate with partners across government, industry, and academic sectors on initiatives to reduce environmental impacts of the North Sea Nephrops fishery (including reduction of carbon emissions), whilst also taking into account the socio-economic importance of fisheries as well as food security.
• Commission research into the assessment of the carbon footprint of the different components of Nephrops fisheries.
• Collaborate with partners across government, industry, and academic sectors in identifying and exploring alternative ways to reduce carbon footprint within the Nephrops supply chain.
• Collaborate across the UK and internationally on further evidence and analysis to understand the impact of climate change on Nephrops and develop options for how the Nephrops fishery may adapt to climate change impacts in the future.

Relevant Fisheries Act objectives

• sustainability objective
• climate change objective