INACTIVE UK brown crab and European lobster - pot/trap

Reason for Inactivity: The timeline for the UK Crab and Lobster FIP came to an end in April 2023. The final annual review of the FIP indicated that no performance indicator would be expected to fail in an MSC assessment, however there are still activities underway to ensure the fishery demonstrate best practice against the MSC Standard. Demonstrable progress against the majority of the remaining actions is reliant on the delivery of the national Crab and Lobster Fisheries Management Plan by Defra, which is due to be published by the end of 2023. These actions include the implementation of a harvest strategy and harvest control rules, fishery specific objectives and decision making processes. 

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.

The UK Western Channel and Celtic Sea: Brown crab and European lobster pot and trap fisheries are comprised of both the inshore and offshore, whereby smaller vessels (mainly under 10m) operate closer to the coast and larger vessels split time between the two marine areas.

Fishery management jurisdiction is organised on two different scales around England. Beyond 6 nautical miles, DEFRA and the MMO are responsible for managing crab fisheries whereas from the coast out to 6 nautical miles, responsibility lies with the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs).

No TACs are set for the Western Channel & Celtic Sea edible crab fishery or the Southwest lobster fishery. 

Total landings of crab were around 8,000t for the areas covered by the Western Channel stock assessment for each of the years 2013-2015, comprising 5,000t from the UK, 2,000t from France, and 1,000t from the Channel Islands.  Landings for the Celtic Sea stock assessment area are estimated at 3,000t, comprising 2,000t from the UK, and 1,000t from Ireland. 

Total landings of lobster have been at between 200t and 300t for the area covered by the Southwest lobster stock unit for each of the years from 2006-2013.