UK Norway lobster - bottom trawl and creel

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Overview

Project UK is working towards an environmentally sustainable future for UK fisheries by running Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) on 12 UK fisheries that have been selected by the UK seafood supply chain. They were selected due to their importance for the UK market.

Project UK has been developed in response to the demand from the supply chain, retailers, industry and NGOs. The project will commission an MSC pre-assessment to inform and develop an action plan for each fishery, which will identify improvements.

Nephrops are a commpercially important species of crustacean distributed throughout the northeast Atlantic from Iceland and the western coast of Norway in the north to the Atlantic coast of Morocco and the western and central Mediterranean. They are found predominantly in muddy sediment in which they build complex burrow systems, at depths of between 20 and 800m. Although they have a wide geographical range, there is no clear evidence of any significant migration between populations.

Total Annual Catch (TAC) quotas are set for each of the three ICES management divisions that overlay the Fishery, with total 2018 TAC set at 65,738t. Of this TAC, the West of Scotland, Irish Sea and North Sea Nehrops landed 42,622t (North Sea: 21,237t; West of Scotland: 11,842t; Irish Sea: 9,543t). Nephrops are predominantly landed by demersal trawl gear, accounting for 95% of landings, with the other 5% landed by creels. Scottish-registered vessels account for 67% of landings by weight, followed by Irish-registered vessels (27%) and English-registered vessels (6%).

FIP Description 

Project UK is working towards an environmentally sustainable future for UK fisheries by running Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) on 12 UK fisheries that have been selected by the UK seafood supply chain.

FIP Objective(s) 

By April 2024, the FIP aims to address the following:

  • Meet the 80+ score for each MSC performance indicator within 5 years (May 2019 - 2024) and be able to enter MSC full assessment. 
  • Support fisheries with the tools to implement changes and ensure their sustainable future as they move towards MSC certification
  • Follow the step by step definition of a credible FIP involving four key stages, each with associated tools & support mechanisms:
  1. Undertake MSC pre-assessment
  2. Develop an action plan for improvement
  3. Implement actions & track progress
  4. Enter full MSC assessment
  • Address and aim to improve all principle indicators scoring below 80 across the MSC as determined in the pre-assessments 
  • Use the model to establish a 'FIP conveyor belt' to identify, improve and certify UK fisheries
  • Track progress consistently and transparently, producing review reports on an annual basis using a consultant body
FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 5: Improvements on the Water
Start and Projected End Dates
May 2019
April 2024
Last Progress Report Reviewed 
Friday, August 19, 2022
Next Progress Report Due 
Monday, July 31, 2023
Species 
Common Name 
Norway Lobster
Scientific Name
Nephrops norvegicus
Gear Type 
Bottom Trawl
Pot/Trap
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 27 (Atlantic, Northeast)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
Geographic Scope 
ICES Areas Iv, VIa & VIIa
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
20,091 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
39,066 metric tons
Landings Date 
December 2019
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FIP at a Glance

14% 50% 36%
May 01, 2019
18% 46% 36%
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.
Jul 2023
Target End Date
Apr 2024

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
Facilitated by the Marine Stewardship Council
Organization Type 
NGO
Primary Contact 
Jo Pollett
Email 
jo.pollett@msc.org
Website Name 
Project UK Fisheries Improvements
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.
10348