Proposed West Coast of Scotland Whiting Fisheries Management Plan
The West Coast of Scotland whiting FMP is one of 43 UK FMPs set out in the Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). It sets out the policies and actions to continue to maintain the relevant stock at sustainable levels providing positive socio-economic benefits to the UK.
Background
Stock
This FMP covers West of Scotland (6.a) whiting (Merlangius merlangus).
Whiting is a key species in the trophodynamics of the West of Scotland, 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.
Whiting is a demersal species which lives near the seabed at depths ranging from 100 to 200 m, although they can move up into midwater depths to forage. Both juvenile and adult whiting are widespread in the West of Scotland (although with a patchy distribution).
Whiting is a Lusitanian species which favours warmer waters than boreal species such as cod or haddock. In the northern part of the area, the spatial distribution of whiting is affected by temperature during winters, with higher abundances observed in warmer areas. Spawning occurs between January in the southern West of Scotland, and July in the northern part of the area.
Whiting is generally caught using demersal trawls, with a very small amount caught by seine nets. Fishing types can vary between countries, and between fishing area. The information within this FMP primarily focuses on UK fishing vessels, as these are the vessels for which we have accurate data.
Fishing mortality (F) for whiting in the West of Scotland has been below FMSY since the mid-2000s, and is currently at the lowest observed historical level. Spawning stock biomass (SSB) increased from a low point in 2009 and now fluctuates around the MSY Btrigger point, although SSB remains much less than the peak estimated in the early 1980s. Recruitment underwent a potential phase shift around 2000, and has since varied around a lower mean level.
Location
This biological stock is found in ICES area 6.a (West of Scotland). This FMP is only intended to apply to fishing activity within UK waters in the West of Scotland (ICES area 6.a), 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. For management purposes, there is one TAC area, denoted by ICES code WHG/56-14. This includes UK and international waters of ICES divisions 6.a (West of Scotland) and 6.b (Rockall), as well as ICES areas 5 and 14.
The figures below show the location of the ICES areas, along with the known distribution of the whiting stock within area 6.a, according to the latest available survey data.
There was no survey in 2022. The size of the circles is proportional to the biomass observed (see legends).
Fishery
Fishing for West of Scotland whiting in UK waters takes place as part of a mixed fishery (meaning that West of Scotland whiting is caught alongside other whitefish stocks, often as a bycatch of the demersal trawl fishery rather than a targeted species). Whiting is also a bycatch species in the Nephrops trawl fishery. 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.
The West of Scotland whiting stock is typically caught by demersal-targeting fisheries, who accounted for 94% of the catch between 2019 – 2022. There used to be a substantial fishery targeting the stock in the West of Scotland, operating with seines, but this has decreased markedly in recent years, linked to a reduction in stock abundance, subsequent reductions in the quota available, and a reduction in popularity amongst consumers leading to a decline in available markets.
In recent years the stock has been managed as a bycatch fishery and was a bycatch for Nephrops trawlers working west and north of the Faroe line. However, in 2023 the recovery of the stock meant that the bycatch provision could be removed through the TAC setting process and quota allocated to producer organisations. While an expansion of the biomass has not been maintained the annual catch has been low, and well below the TAC.
Analysis of the UK fishing fleet shows that between 2015 – 2022, the UK fleet accounted for 70% of the West of Scotland whiting catch in ICES area 6, with the remaining 30% attributable to the EU fleet. Within the EU fleet, Ireland accounts for an average of 27% of the EU fleet’s catch. Of the 2022 UK fleet landings of ICES area 6 West Scotland whiting, Scottish-registered vessels accounted for 98% of the total catch, with English vessels making up the rest.
Analysis of the UK fisheries data shows that the West of Scotland whiting is typically caught by demersal trawl nets (~95%), with the remaining catch landed via seine nets.
| Gear Type | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trawls | 92% | 97% | 93% | 93% | 98% | 99% | 97% | 95% |
| Seine nets | 8% | 3% | 7% | 7% | 2% | 1% | 3% | 5% |
The landed value of the West of Scotland whiting remained under £200,000 between 2015 and 2018, before rising to £900,000 in 2021. This increase was primarily caused by an increase in the tonnage of the West of Scotland whiting landed, from ~140t in 2015 to 2018, to 660t in 2021 (which corresponded with the move away from a bycatch only TAC) . The price per tonne (PPT) of whiting has also steadily increased, from around £1,000 in 2015 to ~£1,350 in 2021. The landed value in 2022 was down from 2021 (~£550,000 for the year), caused by a decrease in the tonnage caught (~400t for the year). This is despite an increase in the PPT, which rose to a period high of £1,450.
The West of Scotland whiting catch is almost exclusively landed into the UK, which saw 99% of the West of Scotland whiting catch between 2015 and 2022. West of Scotland whiting landings are concentrated in 4 major districts in the North and North East of Scotland, which accounted for ~90% of the tonnage landed between 2015 and 2022. These districts, and their relative portions, were Wick (37%), Kinlochbervie (22%), Ullapool (18%), and Peterhead (14%). Within these districts’ ports, however, West of Scotland whiting accounted for not more than 1% of the total landed value at each port, indicating that the West of Scotland whiting is not a major stock for any port.
West of Scotland whiting also does not represent a stock of commercial importance for any of the major fleet groups which typically catch it. For both the percentage share of the fleet’s tonnage and the fleet’s landed value, the West of Scotland whiting represented less than 1%.
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 haddock and whiting are often found together and further south than saithe and cod, which are also caught together and found further north.
Contact
Email: FMPs@gov.scot