Marine / Improvement in fisheries science secures ‘notable’ monkfish quota increase
LOCAL fishermen will be able to look with some confidence towards next year after the valuable monkfish quota was restored to 2019 levels.
The 172 per cent increase in the TAC (Total Allowable Catch) for monkfish, agreed this week by the UK and the European Union, was made possible due to improved science on the state of stocks.
Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA) executive officer Daniel Lawson said the result was a good example of what could happen when fisheries science was up to scratch.
The significant uplift means the TAC for monkfish now sits at almost 31,000 tonnes – 19,622 tonnes for the North Sea and 11,104 tonnes for West of Scotland.
Eighty nine per cent of the North Sea TAC and 44.5 per cent of the West of Scotland TAC can be caught by UK vessels.
Lawson said apart from an agreement on some quota swaps with Norway and Faroe, quota negotiations for 2025 have now comcluded.
Earlier this month the whitefish sector had to accept a 20 per cent reduction in the cod quota following the conclusion of the talks between the UK, Norway and the EU over shared stocks in the North Sea.
However, the UK/EU fisheries agreement for 2025 ,with its notable quota increase for monkfish, was described by Lawson as an “economic boon for our community”.
For years, monkfish was considered to be “data deficient”, with continuing precautionary quota cuts enacted as a result.
However, a recent scientific benchmark of the monkfish stock – considering new data submissions, including from industry – resulted in enough information being gathered by ICES (the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) for the species to be upgraded to a full analytical assessment.
Lawson said: “This shows what can be sustainably achieved by targeted investment in fisheries science. Data deficient stocks are the scourge of fisheries management.
“Quotas are slashed, and fishing crews lose out, through no fault of their own – but because adequate resources have not been put in to answering scientific unknowns.
“This agreement brings monkfish quotas back to where they were in previous years, and rights the wrong of recent precautionary quota cuts driven by the problem of data deficiency. “For other species affected, fishing crews stand ready to assist with filling in the blanks of fisheries science.”
Other quota agreed at the UK/EU fisheries talks for 2025 are:
- Megrim (NS) -3%
- Ling (NS) 0% (rollover)
- Hake (NS) -20%
- Lemon sole & witch (NS) -12%
- Skates & rays (NS) –1%
- Tusk (NS) 0% (rollover)
- Turbot & brill (NS) +19%
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