Proposed Northern Shelf Cod Fisheries Management Plan

Fisheries management

Management strategy for cod

In the JFS, the UK fisheries policy authorities lay out a shared ambition to deliver ‘world class, sustainable management of our sea fisheries and aquaculture across the UK, and to play our part in supporting delivery of this globally’. The JFS also states that ‘As part of being an independent coastal State, the fisheries policy authorities will work together to support a vibrant, profitable, and sustainable fishing and aquaculture sector supported by a healthy marine environment that is resilient to climate change’. These ambitions are managed in line with numerous domestic and international policy drivers, which oblige action to consider and mitigate for the wider adverse environmental impacts of fishing activity.

In UK waters fisheries are managed in line with UK fisheries legislation (such as the 2020 Act, UK and devolved administration secondary legislation) and licence conditions where appropriate.

Cod (in ICES areas 4 and 7.d) is a stock covered by the North Sea Multi Annual Plan (MAP) (EUR 2018/973).^[11] The North Sea MAP contains measures to restore and maintain fish stocks above levels capable of producing MSY, and requirements relating to the determination of fishing opportunities, implementation of the landing obligation and engagement with third countries to ensure the relevant stocks are managed in a sustainable manner in line with the MAP objectives.

The management of the Northern Shelf cod fishery in the UK is carried out within this overarching context.

Northern Shelf cod is a jointly managed stock with other Coastal States. The North Sea component, which comprises of three sub-stocks, is managed trilaterally with the EU and Norway. The West of Scotland component of the stock is a UK-EU bilateral stock, however the overarching TAC for Northern Shelf cod (comprising both the North Sea and West of Scotland components) is set trilaterally as part of the UK-EU-Norway trilateral negotiations. This further reflects the complexity of managing the Northern Shelf cod stock. The approach to Coastal States negotiations follows the principles stated in the JFS.

The international arrangements that are in place to underpin management of Northern Shelf cod directly support the policies of this FMP. Specifically, the negotiations and TAC setting support the setting of fishing opportunities at sustainable levels (Policy 1) and the trilateral actions to agree improvements to the evidence base support Policy 2.

Following the conclusion of annual negotiations with other Coastal States, the UK’s share of the TAC is agreed and then determined as fishing opportunities for British vessels by the Secretary of State and published in a document under section 23 of the 2020 Act.^[12] Following this, the UK’s quota is apportioned between the four UK Fisheries Administrations in line with the UK Quota Management Rules.^[13] Each UK Fisheries Administration then allocates its share of apportioned quota to vessels/licences under their administration, in line with their quota management^[14] and Section 25 of the 2020 Act. Quotas are adaptable for example, they may be transferred between the management groups which represent UK fishing vessels, or exchanged with the EU.

Coastal States involved in trilateral management of jointly managed stocks (including Northern Shelf cod) have committed to working towards a Long Term Management Plan (LTMP) for these stocks.^[15] In addition, as part of the written record following the 2024 trilateral international negotiations between the UK, EU and Norway, a series of actions were agreed which focussed on reviewing the management measures currently in place, improving the current assessment methodology and, where needed, amending or updating management arrangements in order to support the long-term health of the stock. The actions relating to the agreed record are contained as part of that agreement, but are relevant and reflected within this FMP. As progress is made with the various actions, the content of the FMP will be kept under review as needed.

The UK will continue to engage with other Coastal States to work towards determining a LTMP for Northern Shelf cod and, once that LTMP is agreed, will follow the approach set out in that LTMP to ensure long-term sustainability of the Northern Shelf cod stock.

An LTMP can set a harvest control rule (HCR) for the stock in question, which, where appropriate, will build on those elements of an HCR set out within the North Sea MAP and already included in ICES advice. An HCR for a quota stock is an agreed mechanism which defines an approach to TAC setting, based on target stock assessment outputs such as fishing mortality rate (F) and SSB. It may also include additional elements such as stability mechanisms and inter-annual quota flexibilities. By modelling short to long term impacts, a combination of these options will be selected by the negotiating parties, with an aim of ensuring stock health, maximising average yield, and reducing year-on-year quota fluctuations. This provides a more stable way of managing stocks in the long term.

Current technical measures

All fishing activity in UK waters is managed through a range of technical measures. These technical measures were historically laid out in the form of technical conservation regulations written into the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) legislation through various EU delegated acts, which have now been retained into UK law following the UK’s exit from the European Union and are referred to as ‘assimilated law’. Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the UK Government and devolved administrations have various powers available to them to introduce new technical measures, for example by using licence conditions, or through secondary legislation under the 2020 Act or other relevant UK laws.

Technical measures tend to apply to specific groupings of vessels, or types of fish, and as such can be very similar. This means that the technical measures in place to support sustainable exploitation of the Northern Shelf cod stock are likely to be very similar to those in place to manage other whitefish stocks, particularly when they are part of a mixed fishery.

Cod does, however, behave differently to some other whitefish species when disturbed by a fishing net: appropriate selectivity measures are challenging to introduce because they will reduce catchability of other commercially important species (such as anglerfish). To account for this, effective management often encompasses a range of options which, when delivered as a package, can help reduce unwanted catches of the stock. This is reflected within the management measures already in place and is explored further under Actions.

Current technical measures^[16] in place to manage sustainable exploitation of the Northern Shelf stock include:

• Minimum Conservation References Size (MCRS) (which prevents targeting of undersized fish by ensuring that only fish above the MCRS can be sold for human consumption);
• Minimum mesh sizes and structure of fishing nets (which set a minimum standard intended to reduce catches of fish below the MCRS and generally make fishing operations more efficient and effective); and
• The Landing Obligation^[17] which stipulates that all catches of quota species, which includes cod and includes all catches below MCRS must be landed and counted against quota unless exemptions apply.

Further detail regarding technical measures can be found on the UK Government’s Technical Conservation and Landing Obligation rules and regulations webpage.^[18]

As already noted within this FMP, despite the landing obligation being in place, there remain issues with illegal discarding of fish within the Northern Shelf cod fishery. Discarding figures produced by ICES show that for all vessels taking part in the Northern Shelf cod fishery (i.e. not limited to UK vessels and not just in UK waters), on a 5 year average between 2019-2023, out of a total catch of 138,044 tonnes, there was a corresponding discard tonnage of 27,365 tonnes. The discard rate ranged from 9.8% to 29.6%. These figures relate to ICES area 4, Divisions 6.a and 7.d, and Subdivision 20 (North Sea, West of Scotland, eastern English Channel, Skagerrak). Discarding issues are not specific to UK vessels and will also apply to other non-UK vessels that catch the stock (both within and outwith UK waters). Steps are being taken across the UK to address issues with discarding, and actions relating to this are included within the actions section. This includes consideration of additional technical measures which might support fishing vessels to be more selective and avoid catching fish they wish to avoid. In Scotland this is under the Future Catching Policy programme of work.

The Northern Shelf cod stock has the potential to cause a ‘choke’ issue in the context of the wider mixed whitefish fishery. This depends on the relative health of the stock and availability of quota at any given time. Choke refers to a situation that may occur when the quota opportunities for one stock in a mixed fishery limit the ability of fishing vessels to maximise catches of another stock because the available quota is limited. Fisheries policy authorities take account of potential choke problems as part of the setting of quota opportunities.

Additional stock specific management measures

North Sea cod

The management of the Northern North Sea cod stock has recently been supported by a range of additional measures, including the National Cod Avoidance Plan (NCAP) included in Annex A of this FMP. The NCAP has been in place since 2020, and was developed jointly with stakeholders at the time of implementation. To avoid having two separate fisheries plans which describe cod management, we are reflecting the NCAP in this plan so that all cod management measures are consolidated in one place: the Northern Shelf cod FMP. The NCAP includes the use of spawning closures, real time closures, and real time catch reporting as well as improved technical measures. There is ongoing work with trilateral partners to review current technical measures in place for cod, across the whole of the Northern Shelf stock area.

There is an action within this FMP to review and refine the NCAP management measures contained in Annex A. Given the work being undertaken in this area, an earlier review of the FMP is likely, rather than the usual six-year cycle of review. Fisheries policy authorities will take a decision on this as required.

West of Scotland cod

The UK has taken positive steps to support the recovery of cod found in the West of Scotland. Methods include changes in gear, spatial and quota management, along with the use of smart technology to help fishing vessels to avoid unwanted catches. In addition, the UK made a significant contribution to the EU’s North Western Waters bycatch reduction plan, and the increase in size of the square mesh panel for the Nephrops fleet in the West of Scotland supports a reduction in whitefish bycatch.

The Scottish industry is currently piloting a Real Time Reporting project (BATMAP: see https://info.batmap.co.uk) which helps whitefish vessels to avoid areas of cod and whiting abundance and supports improved tracking for areas of known aggregations.

Spawning closures

The NCAP management measures contained in Annex A include a series of seasonal area closures to protect spawning cod in the North Sea area. In addition, Since 2001, a specific area in the Firth of Clyde has been closed to fishing each year between 14 February and 30 April, in order to protect spawning cod. The Scottish Government has responsibility for the closure via a Scottish Statutory Instrument (SSI). These measures are currently under review, and any amendments will be reflected in future iterations of the FMP.

Monitoring, control and enforcement

Fisheries regulations serve a range of purposes, including preventing actions which adversely impact sustainability of the marine environment. Fisheries policy authorities are focused on reducing the main risks for non-compliance with those regulations, for example relating to non or inaccurate reporting, use of illegal fishing gear and fishing in areas where activity is restricted. In the case of cod, there have been historic issues with discarding and misreporting of catches, where some fishing vessels incorrectly record catches of cod against the wrong TAC area. These instances of illegal activity are used to inform the wider monitoring, control and enforcement approach, particularly in relation to the targeting of detection and deterrent activity.

Fisheries enforcement authorities (the Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the Marine Management Organisation – MMO – in this instance) carry out enforcement that is intelligence-led, risk-based or is required by the UK’s international obligations. Enforcement of the respective regulations, domestic and international is in line with applicable guidelines for regulators. Across the UK there are a range of assets to support this, including compliance vessels, surveillance aircraft, the UK Fisheries Monitoring Centre and Marine Enforcement Officers conducting physical and office-based inspections throughout the chain of traceability.

Fishing vessels over 12 metres are required to have fully operational satellite Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS), and electronic logbooks, enabling authorities to remotely monitor and control fishing activity and encourage higher compliance. VMS is also being rolled out across the under 12 metre fishing fleet and will form part of the monitoring and enforcement regime for all fishing vessels once this rollout is complete. Understanding and being able to monitor and control where fishing activity is taking place is an important part of fisheries management, particularly where area restrictions are in place. Accurate and robust locational data is also crucial for informing marine planning decisions. Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) is also being rolled out in parts of the UK and for certain fishing vessels. REM can provide a higher degree of locational data, along with the use of sensors and cameras where appropriate which enable monitoring of fishing activity and can provide a richer dataset, for example, in relation to catches and bycatches. Specific actions relating to VMS and REM are contained within the actions section below.

UK fisheries authorities apply a fishing vessel licensing regime along with control measures throughout the whole chain of traceability from catching to sale. These measures include requirements to record catch details whilst at sea, the weight of catch landed, transport and takeover documents once landed and sales notes from registered buyers. This comprehensive data set enables fisheries authorities to effectively monitor fishing activity and compliance with national and local regulations.

These measures are not specific to Northern Shelf cod fishing and apply across the wider demersal fishing fleet. As a trilateral jointly managed stock it is important that this FMP reflects appropriate actions identified through the monitoring and control group.

Actions to enhance the current monitoring and enforcement approach are contained within the “Actions” section.