Key fish stocks ‘teetering on the brink of collapse’ amid overfishing
Key fish stocks are “teetering on the brink of collapse” after the majority of fishing quotas negotiated by the UK for 2026 were not set in line with scientific advice to ensure healthy stocks, an official assessment has suggested.
Analysis indicates that less than two-fifths of internationally agreed catch limits were in line with levels needed to maintain sustainable fisheries, according to the government’s Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas).
Catch limits exceeded scientific advice for ensuring sustainable stocks for 46 fish populations (58%), and two could not be scored, Cefas found.
Those that failed to meet the scientific advice included key cod and mackerel fisheries, where scientists have called for fishing to be dramatically reined in to ensure stocks have a sustainable future.
The International Council for Exploration of the Sea (Ices) have urged cuts of 77% in catches of mackerel in the north-east Atlantic.
And the scientific experts have recommended “zero catch” quotas in 2026 for all cod stocks in the “Northern shelf” – an area covering the English Channel, North Sea up to Norway and the west of Scotland.
