Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for Pelagic Fisheries Management Plans

Footnotes

1 Scottish waters refer to the Scottish inshore and Scottish offshore regions as set out in section 322 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.

2 English waters refer to the English inshore and English offshore regions as set out in section 322 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.

3 Northern Irish waters refer to the Northern Irish inshore and Northern Irish offshore regions as set out in section 322 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.

4 Welsh waters refer to the Welsh inshore and Welsh offshore regions as set out in Section 322 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.

5 Carbon emissions in UK fisheries: recent trends, current levels, and pathways to Net Zero. Opens a report analysing carbon emissions in UK fisheries and potential pathways to net zero.

6 The environmental impacts of pelagic fish caught by Scottish vessels. Opens a study assessing the environmental impacts of pelagic fisheries in Scotland.

7 Assessing greenhouse gas emissions from Scotland's fishing fleet. Opens a report evaluating greenhouse gas emissions from Scotland’s fishing fleet.

8 Scottish Government Sea Fisheries Statistics 2024: Table 47. Opens official statistics on sea fisheries from the Scottish Government.

9 Changes in fish distribution in the eastern North Atlantic ICES 2023. Opens a report on observed changes in fish distribution in the eastern North Atlantic based on ICES scientific analysis.

10 Climate change risk adaptation for wild capture seafood. Opens guidance on adapting wild capture fisheries to risks associated with climate change.

11 Changing fish distributions challenge the effective management of European Fisheries. Opens an article discussing how shifting fish distributions affect fisheries management in Europe.

12 Climate change projections of commercial fish distribution and suitable habitat around north western Europe. Opens a study presenting projected changes in fish distribution and habitats under climate change scenarios.

13 Warming shelf seas drive the subtropicalization of European pelagic fish communities. Opens a scientific study on how warming seas are shifting fish communities toward warmer-water species.

14 Geographical expansion of Northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in the Nordic Seas. Opens a study describing the expansion of mackerel into northern waters.

15 Impacts on Commercial and Recreational Fisheries Relevant to the UK and Ireland. Opens a report assessing climate change impacts on commercial and recreational fisheries.

16 Impacts of climate change on the complex life cycles of fish. Opens a study examining how climate change affects different stages of fish life cycles.

17 Wasp-waist populations and marine ecosystem dynamics: Navigating the “predator pit” topographies. A research article explaining how some marine ecosystems are shaped by a few key mid‑level fish species that strongly influence both their predators and their prey.

18 Forage fish, their fisheries, and their predators: who drives whom? A research article exploring how small “forage fish” link the marine food web, supporting predators like seabirds and larger fish.

19 Interaction between top-down and bottom-up control in marine food webs. A study explaining how marine ecosystems are shaped both by “top‑down” forces (predators and fishing) and “bottom‑up” forces (climate and food availability).

20 The 11 descriptors include: biodiversity; non-indigenous species; commercial fish; food webs; eutrophication; sea-floor integrity; hydrographical conditions; contaminants; contaminants in seafood; marine litter and underwater noise. For more information, see Introduction to UK Marine Strategy (cefas.co.uk)

21 Key issues are: impact of the removal of targeted species on the status of fish stocks; benthic disturbance related pressures associated with towed demersal gear; impact of the removal of targeted fish stocks on other species / wider environment; impact of bycatch (bird / mammal / fish) on biodiversity, food webs or stocks; fishing related sources contributing to marine litter; noise from pingers / acoustic deterrents contributing to marine noise.

22 Good ecological status (GES) is a metric for assessing the health of the water environment. It is assigned using various water flow, habitat and biological quality tests. Failure to meet any one individual test means that the whole water body fails to achieve good ecological status. Source: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (WQR0028)

23 Marine litter strategy - gov.scot

24 Reasonable alternatives definition

25 An explanation of a MSY approach to fishing is provided in Advice published by ICES

26 Sustainability of Fish Stocks | National Performance Framework

27 Where relevant, the relationship between the issue and the UK MS descriptor of GES is shown as ‘D#’ where # represents the number of the descriptor, as shown in Appendix A.

28 Kingston, A., Thomas, l. and Northridge, S. (2021) UK Bycatch Monitoring Programme Report for 2019. Sea Mammal Research Unit. Available at Science Search (defra.gov.uk)

29 7 Northridge, S., Kingston, A. and Thomas, l. (2019) Annual report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 812/2004 during 2018. Sea Mammal Research Unit. Available at Science Search (defra.gov.uk)

30 Kingston, A., Thomas, l. and Northridge, S. (2021) UK Bycatch Monitoring Programme Report for 2019. Sea Mammal Research Unit. Available at Science Search (defra.gov.uk)

31 Marine Mammal By-catch Assessment

32 Kittiwake breeding success has only been achieved for the English mainland colonies. GES for Kittiwake breeding success has not been achieved for the entire North Sea region due to breeding failures in Orkney and Shetland.

33 Anderson, O.R.J., Thompson, D. & Parsons, M. (2022). Seabird bycatch mitigation: evidence base for possible UK application and research. . JNCC Report no. 717 , JNCC, Peterborough. ISSN 0963-8091

34 Northridge. S., Kinston. A. and Coram. A. (2020). Preliminary estimates of seabird bycatch by UK vessels in UK and adjacent waters. Scottish Ocean Institute, University of St Andrews. Final report to JNCC

35 Miles, J., Parsons, M. and O’Brien, S. (2020). Preliminary assessment of seabird population response to potential bycatch mitigation in the UK-registered fishing fleet. Report prepared for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Project Code ME6024).

36 Bell ED, Nash RMD, Garnacho E, De Oliveira J, Hanin M, Gilmour F, O’Brien CM 2023. Assessing the sustainability of negotiated fisheries catch limits by the UK for 2023. Cefas project report for Defra.