Current status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the conclusions as they relate to Scotland of the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science report, Assessing the sustainability of fisheries catch limits negotiated by the UK for 2025, which found that catch limits for 52% of UK stocks, including West of Scotland whiting and saithe, North Sea cod and anglerfish, did not meet sustainability tests.
Assessing fisheries stock health and management is a complex issue and there are many metrics against which sustainability can be evaluated. The sustainability reports published by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture (CEFAS) cover stocks across the UK. However, the most relevant evaluation for fish stocks within Scottish waters is the Sustainable Fishing Indicator (SFI), which is published by the Scottish Government as part of the National Performance Framework.
Whilst the Cefas report covers all UK waters, the SFI is specific to the sustainability status of commercial fish and shellfish stocks present in Scottish waters. Additionally, while both reports take into account stock biomass, they consider fisheries management in different ways. The Cefas report defines a complex list of management criteria, and stocks must pass all of these in order to be considered sustainable. The SFI looks at actual fishing pressure, and instead of using a pass/fail approach, it provides a sliding scale for how sustainable fishing levels are in the real world. We consider this to be best way to assess how sustainable fishing is in reality in Scotland.
The SFI shows that the sustainability status of stocks in Scottish waters has increased through time, from 39% in 1995 to 73% in 2023. This positive trend is reflective of improved fisheries management and more responsible fishing practices, and is particularly notable during a period when warming in Scottish waters might be expected to be reducing stocks.
It is important to work within environmental limits, managing sustainably to support future generations and safeguarding the diversity of the marine ecosystem. The Scottish Government takes this responsibility seriously, and our approach to fisheries management is underpinned by the best available scientific information.
This is an important principle when it comes to setting annual catch limits for fish stocks. These are agreed with Coastal State partners through a series of annual negotiations, with the Scottish Government playing an active part in the UK delegation. Throughout the negotiations, Scotland fully supports following the scientific advice and setting fishing opportunities that are consistent with the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) approach wherever appropriate. However, setting an MSY-based catch limit is not always possible, and it is sometimes more appropriate, for the stock and for fishing industries, to set a TAC above or below the headline scientific advice.
For both 2024 and 2025, catch limits for 33 out of the 41 key Scottish stocks were set at or below the headline scientific advice and/or the MSY level. Scientists from Scotland and from our neighbouring Coastal States provided advice to managers throughout the negotiations, and the best available evidence was used as the basis for decisions.