Describing NGO Oceana’s report on the state of UK fish stocks as ‘misleading’, Scottish Fishermen’s Federation chief executive Elspeth Macdonald states that it is ‘based on only partial knowledge and limited understanding of fisheries science and management.’
She commented that there is nothing unusual aboutfish stocks fluctuating, and that increases and decreases in scientific advice between years are absolutely normal – while scientific advice also contains margins of error.
‘These and other factors are taken into account by fisheries managers in setting total allowable catches (TACs). If TACs are set that exceed scientific advice, then that will have been carefully considered by fisheries managers within governments. We are fortunate in Scotland in having very well managed fisheries. Fisheries managers in the UK set quotas for mackerel based on ICES scientific advice, and the Scottish fleet fishes within these limits. Some other countries involved in the mackerel fishery do exceed limits, but we do not,’ she said.
Taking issue with Oceana’s assessments, she pointed out that scientists now acknowledge that there is no such thing as a West of Scotland cod stock.
‘We have a northern shelf cod stock that covers the North Sea and West of Scotland, and ICES advice due to be published very soon is expected to show that it is in good health. It will be evident that science is catching up with what fishermen have been saying for years – that cod are abundant in Scottish waters and that the stock is healthy,’ she said.
‘Science is always evolving – West of Scotland whiting had a zero TAC until ICES undertook a benchmark exercise, including a detailed review of the science. As a result, the advice changed and a TAC is now set, so management of the stock followed the updated science. ICES will shortly be starting similar benchmark work for anglerfish/monkfish, where TACs have been reduced due to the science being over-precautionary. Industry will be contributing to this work, as we want to see the best possible science to enable optimal management.’
Elspeth Macdonald made the clear point that fisheries managers have real world decisions to make that affect people’s livelihoods.
‘If the scientific advice for one stock in a mixed fishery is for zero TAC, managers may have to set a small quota to account for bycatch – otherwise they risk closing a whole fishery where other stocks may be very abundant. When this happened on the West of Scotland, industry also took action through working with scientists to develop tools for ‘real time reporting’ that allowed fishing boats to avoid certain areas,’ she explained.
‘It’s also worth noting that the Scottish Government has a national indicator of the percentage of fish stocks fished sustainably. In 2020, an estimated 69% of commercial fish stocks were fished at sustainable levels in Scottish waters. This represents an increase of 35 percentage points from 2000. The percentage fished sustainably in 2020 is the highest level recorded since this data collection began (1991) and demonstrates the ongoing recovery of the commercial fish stocks,’ she said.
‘No-one has a greater interest in fishing sustainably than those who make their living from the sea, and we strongly support greater cooperation and knowledge sharing between fishermen and fisheries scientists so we can have the best possible information on which to base the best possible management.’
