UK North Sea cod and whiting - seine & trawl

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Overview

This FIP has been established by the Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG; http://scottishfsag.org/), to support work to rebuild the North Sea cod stock, as well as to improve management of the North Sea whiting stock. SFSAG is an organisation of all the major Producer Organisations in Scotland (and some in England). It is an MSC certificate-holder for several demersal stocks around Scotland (see https://fisheries.msc.org/en/fisheries/sfsag-northern-demersal-stocks/@@view). North Sea cod and whiting are part of this mixed demersal fishery and are assessed under Principle 2 in that certification. As required, the conditions and action plan on these overlapping fisheries are folded into this FIP so that the FIP covers all MSC PIs for the cod and whiting stocks.

North Sea cod is a talismanic stock for Scottish fisheries. It was overfished in the 1980s and 1990s but management was improved, and from ~2005 onwards it appeared to be recovering. However, the most recent stock assessment suggested that recovery had stalled, and also exposed major problems with the assessment. Likewise, for North Sea whiting, the 2018 assessment suggested that stock status was worse than thought, as well as exposing problems with the previous (pre-benchmark) stock assessment.

The scope of the FIP is as follows:

  • Target stocks: North Sea cod (Gadus morhua) and North Sea whiting (Merlangius merlangus)
  • Fishing gears: All gears used by SFSAG members to target these stocks: i.e. demersal otter trawl (single and twin), Nephrops trawl (single and twin), Danish seine, pair trawl, pair trawl-seine
  • Fleet: All vessels belonging to SFSAG member organisations 

 

FIP Description 

This FIP has been established by the Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG; http://scottishfsag.org/), to support work to rebuild the North Sea cod stock, as well as to improve manage

FIP Objective(s) 
  • Rebuild the North Sea cod stock above the PRI by 31st March 2024
  • Put in place a long-term management plan for North Sea cod, including a management target, harvest strategy and harvest control rules and tools, by 31st March 2024
  • Improve the stock assessment for North Sea cod, by 31st March 2023
  • Put in place a robust harvest strategy for North Sea whiting, by 31st March 2025
  • Ensure that bycatch of starry ray and common skate is not having an impact on the recovery of these stocks, by 31st March 2023
  • Ensure that the fishery is not causing serious or irreversible harm to Fladen Ground seapens, by 31st March 2022
FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 4: Improvements in Fishing Practices or Fishery Management
Start and Projected End Dates
January 2020
December 2024
Next Progress Report Due 
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Species 
Common Name 
Atlantic Cod
Scientific Name
Gadus morhua
Buying Guide Link Image 
Atlantic Cod
Buying Guide
Common Name 
European Whiting
Scientific Name
Merlangius merlangus
Gear Type 
Danish Seine
Otter Trawl
Trawl
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 27 (Atlantic, Northeast)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
Geographic Scope 
Scotland
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
21,030 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
21,255 metric tons
Landings Date 
December 2020
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FIP at a Glance

View current status
January 01, 2020
14% 21% 64%
Progress Rating (A) Advanced Progress

Reserved for comprehensive FIPs that have achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within the past 12 months.

(B) Good Progress

A basic FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within 12 months.

(C) Some Recent Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months that has never achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result but has reported a Stage 3 activity within the first 12 months.
(D) Some Past Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months BUT has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old AND a Stage 3 activity has been reported within six months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
(E) Negligible Progress
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old, with no Stage 3 activity reported in the last six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months with no Stage 3 activity reported within 12 months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.

The ratings are currently derived by SFP from publicly available data on FIP websites, including FisheryProgress.org, and are determined using the following methodology: View PDF
A Advanced Progress
Actions Complete

This pie chart represents completed environmental actions. Non-completed environmental actions may contain completed sub-tasks that are not illustrated here. For more information on environmental action progress visit the Actions Progress tab.
  • Complete
  • Incomplete
Next Update Due FisheryProgress requires a FIP to provide update reports every six months, and two missed reports will render the FIP inactive. If a report is overdue, this date will appear red.
Nov 2023
Target End Date
Dec 2024

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG)
Organization Type 
Industry
Primary Contact 
Jen Mouat
Email 
theaegirconsultancy@btinternet.com
Website Name 
SFSAG website
FIP Identification Number The FIP Identification Number is automatically generated by FisheryProgress when a FIP profile is created. While the number itself is not meaningful, they are used by NGOs, academia, and industry to refer to FIPs in a consistent way.
13974