A crew member of a Scottish trawler unloading a catch on the ship's deck. (Photo: EU)

Encouraging news on Scottish fish stocks

Although most major Scottish fish stocks have increased in size in recent years, levels of exploitation have declined significantly, according to a study.

The report, Trends in Scottish Fish Stocks 2016, was conducted by Shetland-based North Atlantic Fisheries College Marine Centre (NAFC), based on data published by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) last year.

"Two general trends are apparent from these ICES data: The size of most whitefish stocks have increased over the last decade, in some cases by substantial amounts. And the level of exploitation of most stocks has declined over the same period, again by substantial amounts in some cases," report author, Dr Ian Napier, explained.

"The size of the North Sea cod stock, for example, is now at a similar size to that in the 1960s, prior to the gadoid outburst, while the plaice stock has increased four-fold and the hake stock almost 10-fold over the last decade," the scientist noted.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, expressed his satisfaction to know the good news about the state of stocks.

"Much of this recovery can be attributed to the innovation of our fishermen in developing more selective types of fishing gear and pioneering other initiatives such as real time area closures,” stressed the Scottish leader.

In addition, he said that with Brexit looming, fishermen can look to the future with real confidence. "Regaining control of our own 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will provide a sea of opportunity for the implementation of fit-for-purpose sustainable fisheries management that benefits both our fishing communities and the marine environment," he stressed.

Armstrong also emphasized that this recovery won with constant and intense effort must be nurtured and continued.

"The report underlines the clear importance of gaining full control of our EEZ, which must be a red-line issue during the forthcoming negotiations. Access to our waters should only be considered and discussed once we have achieved this control," the leader concluded.
 

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