Policy paper

20 December 2024: change of circumstances in fishing opportunities for British fishing boats for pollack in the West of Scotland and Celtic Sea

Updated 20 December 2024

1. In the 2024 Determination of fishing opportunities for British fishing boats ^{[footnote 1]}, the Secretary of State set a total allowable catch (TAC) for Area 7 and West of Scotland pollack which exceeded the scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) for 2025. This decision took into account the requirements of the Fisheries Act 2020, the Joint Fisheries Statement and the Western Waters Multiannual Plan (MAP) ^{[footnote 2]} to balance the sustainability of the stock with socio-economic impacts of a significant TAC reduction.

2. For the purposes of determining fishing opportunities, the UK considers scientific advice from ICES. ICES provide annual advice for pollack in subareas 6 and 7 (Celtic Seas and the English Channel) (together ‘pollack 6 and 7’). That advice relates to two separate management areas for which individual TACs are set: (1) The West of Scotland pollack management area in ICES Area 6, UK and international waters of 5b and international waters of 12 and 14 (‘Area 6 pollack’ or ‘West of Scotland pollack’), and (2) The South-West pollack management area in ICES Area 7, (‘Area 7 pollack’). The TACs are set annually by the EU and UK for these management areas with reference to the annual ICES scientific advice stated above.

3. Pollack 6 and 7 is within scope of the Western Waters MAP (Article 1(1)(29)). The UK is therefore required to follow the provisions of the MAP when determining fishing opportunities for pollack in those areas. The ICES headline advice for 2025 was for zero catch. The advice also indicated that the stock biomass (for pollack only stock biomass, not spawning stock biomass (SSB), information is available) is below important biological reference points (Btrigger ^{[footnote 3]} and Blim ^{[footnote 4]}) and consequently Article 8 of the MAP (safeguards) applies. Article 8(1) provides that when the SSB is below the biological reference point ‘Btrigger’, fishing opportunities for that stock should be set at a level which is consistent with a fishing mortality below the upper range of FMSY ^{[footnote 5]}. In addition, Article 8(2) provides that when SSB is below the biological reference point ‘Blim’ further remedial measures shall be taken to ensure rapid return of the stock or functional unit concerned to levels above the level capable of producing Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). As SSB information is not available for pollack, stock biomass information has been used instead.

4. The stock assessment for pollack 6 and 7 is ICES category 2 (category 1 is the most data rich) and FMSY ranges are not yet available for the stock. Consequently, there is no upper or lower FMSY range information available for the purposes of Article 8(1). However, the FMSY catch scenario value (of 633 tonnes, provided in Table 2 of the ICES advice sheet) has been taken to represent the maximum amount which would be compliant with Article 8(1) requirement to set the fishing opportunity below the upper range of FMSY.

5. The bycatch-only TAC set was higher than the FMSY value (as defined above) required to be compliant with Article 8(1) and so the Secretary of State is preparing and publishing this document in line with Article 8(5) to (7) of the MAP, to describe the relevant change of circumstances and explain how that change has affected the Determination.

Change of circumstances and impact on determination

6. The relevant change of circumstances required by the MAP relates to available scientific evidence. In June 2024 ICES provided annual science advice on fishing opportunities for pollack 6 and 7 for 2025. It recommended that when the MSY approach and precautionary considerations are applied, there should be further TAC restraint and ICES consequently advised zero catch in 2025.

7. A zero TAC would have a choke effect that would lead to the premature closure of other demersal fisheries where pollack is unavoidably caught as a bycatch. Consequently, the UK and EU agreed to set a bycatch TAC of 766 tonnes for 2025, in line with a scenario in the EU standing request on catch scenarios for zero-TAC stocks for 2024, which is forecast to result in a 20% increase in the biomass in 2026 compared to 2025. The considerations relevant to the determination of fishing opportunities for British fishing boats at this level are set out below.

8.For 2025 the UK and EU agreed to set a bycatch-only TAC of 77 tonnes for West of Scotland pollack. This represents a further reduction of -17% on the bycatch TAC for 2024 representing fishing opportunities being determined for British boats in 2025 of 28 tonnes.

9. Pollack in Area 6 is principally taken as a bycatch of a directed trawl fishery for haddock. However, it is also a bycatch of fisheries for anglerfish, saithe and squid. In 2023 around 40 vessels landed pollack from area 6, as a bycatch in West of Scotland waters, alongside some 165,000 tonnes of other species with a value of around £196 million from the West of Scotland. We have set the bycatch TAC to avoid closure of those fisheries.

10. For 2025 the UK and EU agreed to set a bycatch-only TAC of 689 tonnes for Area 7 pollack. This represents a further reduction of -17% on the bycatch TAC for 2024 representing fishing opportunities being determined for British boats in 2025 of 172 tonnes.

11. Six broad fisheries in ICES subarea 7 are identified as having pollack interactions. These are 2 line fisheries, one targeting mackerel and one targeting bass, 2 netting fisheries, one targeting hake and the other targeting a mix of demersal species, and beam trawl and otter trawl fisheries targeting a mix of demersal species. Combined these fisheries have a landing value of £124 million each year (2019 to 2023 average, excluding pollack targeting trips) and make up almost half of all landing value from Area 7. Additionally, over 500 UK vessels are landing pollack from Area 7 as a bycatch (landings data from January to October 2024).

12. Determining a zero TAC fishing opportunity could lead to the closure of or limit the fisheries mentioned above. Some of the ports most affected include Newlyn, Plymouth and Mevagissey in England and Scrabster, and Kinlochbervie and Ullapool in Scotland. Setting a very low TAC for a species which cannot be avoided by technical or spatial measures could result in unreported and uncontrolled discarding of pollack if mixed fisheries continue, meaning that the biological stock could take longer to recover, if at all.

13. Allowing pollack to be landed against a bycatch TAC prevents a directed pollack fishery but enables small amounts of pollack to be taken as incidental bycatch of other fisheries. The TAC set by the EU and UK is forecasted to result in an increase of 20% in the pollack stock biomass, as detailed in the EU standing request on catch scenarios for zero TAC stocks 2024 produced by ICES.

14. Although the opportunities for British fishing boats have been set above the Btrigger safeguard level in Article 8(1), other safeguards have been adopted consistent with Articles 8(1) and 8(2). The target fishery for the stock has been suspended and, taking into account mixed fisheries considerations and the economic and social impacts of zero catch advice, fishing opportunities have been reduced to a level which scientific advice forecasts is consistent with a biomass increase of 20% in 2026 compared to 2025. Further steps the UK and EU are taking to safeguard this stock are set out in the Written Record of fisheries consultations between the UK and the EU for 2025.

1. Available at Fishing opportunities for British fishing boats: determinations published in August to December 2024. ↩

2. Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2019/472  ↩

3. Btrigger is the biomass reference point that triggers a cautious response, normally a reduction in fishing pressure. ↩

4. Blim is the biomass limit reference point for spawning stock biomass (SSB) ↩

5. FMSY is the fishing mortality consistent with achieving maximum sustainable yield (MSY) ↩