Proposed North Sea and West of Scotland Saithe Fisheries Management Plan

Background

Stock

Saithe is a North Atlantic gadoid species which is boreal in nature (favouring colder water). Saithe spawn in inshore waters, and juveniles remain in inshore habitats such as Norwegian fjords and the Scottish coast. These areas tend to be very close to shore and therefore are largely inaccessible to trawling, until the fish migrate to deeper water between the ages of 2 and 5 to join the adult stock. Adults tend to occupy a more offshore oceanic habitat, are highly migratory, and a top piscivorous (fish-eating) predator.

Saithe are distributed across the northern North Sea, along the shelf edge north and west of Scotland, and on the Rockall Bank. While there is some evidence that Rockall saithe may be genetically distinct, and it is possible that the stock extends further north than the 62°N management boundary, the stock is currently considered by ICES as a single self-contained biological unit for assessment purposes.

Saithe form schools to a greater extent than most other gadoids (such as cod, haddock or whiting) and consequently can be fished using semi-pelagic trawls or purse seine nets: however, they are generally caught using benthic (seabed) trawls and longlines. Fishing methods vary between countries, with the UK fleet using predominantly trawls to catch saithe. Other countries, such as vessels from Norway and the EU also use longlines to catch saithe. 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.

There has been a reduction in the mean level of recruitment (the number of young fish entering the fishable adult population at age 3) since the early 1980s. Fishing pressure has fluctuated at or just above the FMSY level since the late 1990s, and spawning-stock biomass is currently below the MSY B(trigger) value. To maintain a sustainable stock, permitted catches of saithe have been reducing steadily since the early 1980s.

Location

The biological stock is found in ICES subareas 4 (North Sea) and 6 (Rockall and West of Scotland), and in Division 3.a (Skagerrak and Kattegat). For management purposes, there are two separate TAC areas, denoted by ICES codes POK/2C3A4 and POK/56-14. POK/2C3a4 includes UK waters of ICES area 2, while POK/56-14 includes the UK and international waters of ICES areas 5 and 7-14.

The below figures show the location of the ICES areas, along with the known distribution of the saithe stock within areas 4 and 6, according to the latest available survey data.

Most saithe caught in UK waters is caught in ICES area 4.a with the remaining 20% predominantly being caught in ICES area 6.a.

Fishery

Fishing for saithe in UK waters takes place as part of both a mixed fishery (meaning that saithe is caught alongside other fish stocks, usually other whitefish) and also as part of a targeted fishery (which generally focusses on catching saithe). There are many shared characteristics between whitefish stocks, and similarities in where and how they are fished. When considering management action for saithe as part of this FMP, and in wider management considerations such as the setting of fishing opportunities, fisheries policy authorities consider the role of saithe 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 2022. Whilst this section provides a snapshot of the fishery at this time, it will not reflect any more recent changes in the fishery.

Fishing vessels often move between sea areas to fish, particularly where stocks of fish such as saithe are mobile between those areas. Decisions on where and when to fish usually take into account levels of available quota and access permissions.

On average, 96% of North Sea and West of Scotland saithe is caught by the demersal targeting fleet, with the remaining 4% caught by the shellfish targeting fleet. The share caught by the shellfish targeting fleet suggests that megrim is a low bycatch species.

Analysis of the UK fishing fleet catching North Sea and West of Scotland saithe shows that 78% of the total North Sea and West of Scotland saithe catch is caught in ICES area 4.a, with 21% caught in ICES area 6.a. A negligible amount (<1%) of the catch is shared between ICES areas 4.b, 4.c and 6.b. Between 2015 and 2021, the UK fleet accounted for around 17% of the saithe caught in these ICES regions, with some annual fluctuations. The majority of North Sea and West of Scotland saithe was caught by the Norwegian fleet (54%) followed by the EU fleet (29% - predominantly French and German vessels) fishing along the edge of the Norwegian Deeps and the North Sea continental shelf. Of the 2022 UK fleet catch within these areas, 63% was landed by Scottish-registered vessels, with 37% landed by English-registered vessels, and less than 1% landed by the Northern Irish fleet.

Analysis of UK fisheries data shows that most saithe caught by the UK fleet in those ICES subareas are caught using demersal trawls (around 96%), with a small amount (4%) caught using semi-pelagic seine nets. Only UK fleet data is used here as we do not hold accurate data in relation to types of fishing methods deployed for saithe for the non-UK fleet, as highlighted under the ‘Stock’ section above.

The average price of saithe has generally fluctuated between £900 and £1000 per tonne from 2015 to 2021 in nominal prices. In 2021 there was an observed drop in price relative to the last two years which, in combination with lower landing tonnages, led to a decrease in landed value for the UK fleet. From 2022 onwards, the average value landed has been consistently around £1100-£1200 per tonne in nominal prices.

The majority of saithe caught between 2015-2022 by the UK fleet is landed into the UK, with a sizeable portion of around 17% being landed outwith the UK, generally into Denmark. The main landing districts for saithe in the UK were the North and North East of Scotland - Peterhead (46%), Shetland ports (17%), Scrabster (9%), and Kinlochbervie (6%). Between 2015-2022 saithe generally represents on average 3-5% of any of the main landing ports’ value indicating this is not a major species for any port. However, given saithe’s part in the wider demersal fishery, it is important in ensuring the demersal fleet’s viability.

This is evident in the data for the UK demersal fleet, in particular the over 24 metre and pair trawl seine demersal fleets based in the North Sea and West of Scotland, where saithe made up around 15% of their total catch and between 7-9% of their landed value between 2015-2022. This pattern is repeated in the other major fishing fleet groups where the value is smaller than the tonnage landed indicating this is a lower value species to most fleets.

The data shows that while saithe is not a major species for any UK port, it is an important component of certain large demersal fleet segments. These two noted fleet segments provided 727 full-time equivalent jobs which in 2023 which was around 11% of the whole UK fishing fleet’s full-time equivalent jobs as seen in the Seafish economic data.^[6] As such, while it is difficult to disentangle the value of saithe individually in a mixed fishery, it is clear that it supports a fleet with an important employment in the UK.