Proposed North Sea and Eastern Channel Whiting Fisheries Management Plan

Background

Stock

This FMP covers North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting (Merlangius merlangus). Whiting is a species of generally secondary commercial importance that is caught in large numbers throughout the entire North Sea and Eastern Channel. Whiting is a key species in the tropho-dynamics of the North Sea, both as predator and as prey, and also exhibits strong cannibalism. Juvenile whiting feed on crustaceans, while adults (>30 cm) feed almost exclusively on fish.

Fishing methods vary between countries, with the UK fleet using predominantly trawls, with some seine netting occurring. Other countries also use a mix of trawls and seine nets, as well as longlines and other methods^[5]. The figures within this FMP primarily focus on UK fishing vessels, as these are the vessels for which we have accurate data. This is explained further in the fishery section below.

Whiting is a demersal species which lives near the seabed at depths ranging from 100 to 200 m, although they can move into midwaters to forage. Adult whiting are widespread in the North Sea (although with a patchy distribution) except on the Dogger Bank, while high numbers of juvenile fish occur off the Scottish coast, in the German Bight and along the coast of the Netherlands. Whiting is a Lusitanian species which favours warmer waters than Boreal species such as cod or haddock. In the northern North Sea, the spatial distribution of whiting is affected by temperature during winters, with high abundances observed in warmer areas. Spawning occurs between January in the southern North Sea, and July in the Northern North Sea.

There is a clear North/South split of the stock with the Dogger Bank being suggested as a natural barrier between northern and southern sub-populations. The northern sub-populations appear to be dominating the dynamics of the North Sea stock in recent years. Although the stock is still assessed as one unit, the annual assessment includes analyses comparing the northern and southern components.

Spawning-stock biomass (SSB) had been on a generally downward trend since the start of the assessment in 1978. However, since the historical low in the late 2000s, SSB had been relatively stable and fluctuating between Blim and the MSY Btrigger. Following good recruitment in recent years, the SSB has increased sharply and is now well above the MSY Btrigger. Fishing pressure has been below FMSY since 2000.

Location

The biological stock is found in ICES areas 4 (North Sea) and in Division 7.d (Eastern English Channel). This spans two management areas, therefore when a global TAC is set for this stock, it is split between those two areas. Currently, 80.23% forms the North Sea whiting TAC. This is denoted by the TAC code WHI/2AC4, and includes the UK’s waters of 4 and 2a. The remaining 19.77% forms part of the Celtic Sea whiting TAC. The Celtic Sea TAC is denoted by the TAC code WHG/7X7A-C, and spans 7b-h, and 7j-k. Since 2024 the WHG/7X7A-C TAC has been split into two ‘of which’ TACs. These limit the catch which may be landed in either 7d or from 7b-c,e-k, with the combined total not exceeding limits for the WHG/7X7A-C stock. In 2025 85% of the TAC for WHG/7X7A-C was for catching in 7d and the remaining 15% for 7b-c,e-k.

A Celtic Sea and Western Channel Demersal FMP (which includes whiting) covering English and Welsh waters within ICES areas 7e, 7f, 7g and 7h is being developed by the UK and Welsh Governments.

This FMP is only intended to apply to fishing activity within UK waters in the North Sea and Eastern English Channel (ICES areas 4 and Division 7.d), although in some cases (for example, in relation to our approach to international negotiations with other countries), actions may apply more broadly to the wider biological stock.

The below figures show the location of the ICES areas, along with the known distribution of the North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting stock within areas 4 and Division 7.d, according to the latest available survey data.

Most North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting is caught in 4.a, in the north section of Area 4, with around 10% on average caught in other zones.

Fishery

North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting is caught in a mixed fishery along with cod, haddock, and saithe (these stocks are subject to separate FMPs) in various parts of the North Sea and Eastern Channel. There are many shared characteristics between these whitefish stocks, and similarities in where and how they are fished. When considering management action for the North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting as part of this FMP, and in wider management considerations such as the setting of fishing opportunities, fisheries policy authorities consider the role of whiting in the wider marine ecosystem. Many of the issues that are considered as part of this FMP are applicable across demersal whitefish fisheries, and therefore the actions required are often not specific to one particular stock or fishery.

It is important to note that the figures provided in this section are based on the latest available data which is from 2024. Whilst this section provides a snapshot of the fishery at this time, it will not reflect any more recent changes in the fishery.

The North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting is typically caught by the demersal-targeting fleet (~85%) although a not-insignificant proportion is landed by the shellfish fleet (~15%). However, it is likely that this is as a result of bycatch, not targeted fishing efforts, due to the relatively low value share North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting represents to the shellfish fleet group.

Analysis of the UK fleet fishing for North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting shows that, between 2019 and 2022, 90% of the catch was landed from ICES area 4.a. 6% was landed in 4.b, and 3% landed in 7.d. Around 1% of the catch is attributable to area 4.c. Between 2015 – 2021, the UK fleet landed 55% of the North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting catch from these areas, with the non-UK fleet landing the rest. Of the non-UK fleet, France and Denmark each landed around 15% of the yield, whilst Norway accounted for 6%. Of the 2022 UK fleet landings of North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting, Scottish vessels accounted for around 75% of the catch and English vessels for the remaining 25%. The Northern Irish fleet contributed <1% of the catch. Both England and Scotland caught the majority of their countries’ share in area 4a.

Analysis of the UK fisheries data shows that North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting is typically caught by trawl nets which accounted for, on average, 77% of the catch between 2015 and 2022. Seine nets accounted for the remaining 23% within the same period.

Table – North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting caught by gear type used, for the UK fleet and non-UK fleet landing into the UK

The landed value had been steadily increasing in recent years, from around £10 million in 2015 to just over £16 million in 2021. This has been caused by slight increases in both the tonnage landed (~10,000t to ~12,000t), and the price per tonne (PPT), which increased from £1,000 to £1,300. 2022 has seen a slight dip in landed value, landing ~ £14.5 million for the year. This is primarily due to a decrease in tonnage landed, although this dip is firmly within annual fluctuation limits.

Most of the North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting landed between 2015 and 2022 was into the UK (95%), with only 5% landed outwith the UK. Within the UK, most of the North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting is landed into the districts of Peterhead (52%), Shetland (24%), and Fraserburgh (10%). The Netherlands and France represent the main foreign landing destinations for North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting, which both averaged 2% of the tonnage landed between 2015 and 2022. Of note, in 2022 France landed <1% of the tonnage whilst the Netherlands landed 6%. Whether this is due to annual fluctuations or is indicative of a sustained trend is unclear.

For ports within the major landing districts, the North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting generally represents a 5% or less share of the port’s total landed value. Peterhead and Lerwick, who land 57% and 17% of the total the North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting landed value respectively, attribute only 5% of their total port’s landed value to the North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting. For other ports, it is less. The only exception is Cullivoe in Shetland, where the species represents almost 10% of the port’s total landed value.

For the fleet groups that target the North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting, the share of the fleet’s landed value derived from the species is typically less than the portion of the tonnage that the species represents. However, the species represents a not-insignificant proportion of some fleet groups. The North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting accounts for almost 20% of the North Sea and West of Scotland (NSWOS) demersal seiners’ fleet tonnage and 15% of the fleet’s landed value. For the NSWOS demersal pair trawl seine fleet, North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting represents 12% of their total tonnage, and 11% of their total land value. North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting is typically a lower value species to most other fleet groups.

In 2022, the North Sea and West of Scotland demersal seiners fleet employed 339 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, whilst the North Sea and West of Scotland demersal pair trawl seine fleet employed 197 FTE employees^[7]. Whilst evaluating the individual significance of North Sea and Eastern Channel whiting on the two fleet’s FTE employment is difficult (as the fleet catches other species), it is clear that the species plays a part in supporting the FTE employment of these two fleets given it makes up a not-insignificant proportion of the two fleets’ tonnage and landed value.

Fishing vessels usually target different stocks at different times of year, but because of the mixed nature of the fishery, it is too difficult to separate out the precise differences between vessels and the whitefish they catch, beyond the figures and detail provided within the FMP. Vessels catching whiting will often also catch haddock, cod and saithe. There are indications, however, that whiting and haddock are often found together and further south than saithe and cod, which are also caught together and found further north.