White monkfish

Monkfish in the North Sea is not overfished or subject to overfishing.The stock advice provided by ICES covers two species of anglerfish, or monkfish – Lophius piscatorius (white anglerfish) and L. budegassaI (black-bellied anglerfish), which are usually caught and managed together. White anglerfish has a medium resilience to fishing pressure, while black-bellied anglerfish has a low resilience to fishing pressure. The former is thought to make up the majority of catches (> 93%).This stock was benchmarked in 2024. The latest stock assessment shows that spawning-stock biomass (53,377) has been increasing since 2018 and in 2024 is above MSY Btrigger (38,604 tonnes), Bpa (35, 692 tonnes) and Blim (25,686 tonnes).Fishing pressure (0.089) has declined and in 2023 was below FMSY (0.137). ICES advises that when the MSY approach is applied, catches in 2025 should be no more than 30,726 tonnes. This is a large change in advice following the benchmark of the stock.

Management of the stock is only partly effective. Management should be implemented at the stock level as currently the TAC does not match the stock area and there is potential for catches to exceed advice.The fisheries for the two anglerfish species are managed under Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for two areas, which do not match the stock area. The species are usually caught together and not separated in the landings statistics. Management of the two species in this way risks preventing effective control of the single-species exploitation rates and could possibly lead to overexploitation of either species.There are two European Community TACs in this area, but they do not match the stock unit and do not include Norwegian catches. One covers ICES areas 4 and 2a (North Sea and Norwegian Sea); the second covers 5b, 6, 12, and 14 (Faroes, West of Scotland, North of Azores, East Greenland). There is no TAC for Division 3a – landings in this area were 912 tonnes in 2021 (preliminary official landings) – the fourth highest on records, with all four of the highest occurring over the last four years, indicating this area of the fishery is developing. As a result of this mismatch, there is a potential for catches to exceed advice. TACs have historically been set higher than scientific advice, but TAC in 2017-2020 and 2022 were set in line with advice. TAC in 2021 (18,349 tonnes) was set just above advice (17,645 tonnes). When taking the additional quota for Norway into account (now 1,000 tonnes per year), TACs in the last 5 years (2018-22) averaged 106% of advice.In general, discarding in this fishery is relatively low due to high market value (average 2.9% 2007-2021). There is no Minimum Conservation Reference Size (MCRS) and therefore anglerfish may be fished before they have had the chance to reproduce. Overall discarding was 1.2% of the total catch in 2021, a decrease on previous years with 1.6% in 2020 and 2.3% in 2019.Because of its body shape and large head and jaw, the introduction of a MCRS has not been considered a useful or practical management measure. However, EU Council Regulation (No. 2406/96) laying down common marketing standards for certain fishery products, fixes a minimum weight of 500g for anglerfish. Other monkfish fisheries are due to develop harvest control rules to comply with certification schemes (Icelandic fleet, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)), if these were implemented in the North Sea area it would enable improved management in this North Sea fishery. The EU and UK both have fishery management measures, which can include catch limits, population targets, and gear restrictions. However, compliance in the EU and UK has been inconsistent, with ongoing challenges in implementing some regulations. The goal of reaching Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) by 2020 was missed, with less than half of UK TACs in 2024 following ICES advice. In 2024, the EU and UK reaffirmed their commitment to sustainable fisheries by aligning management with scientific advice to gradually approach MSY. However, no new target date has been set for achieving MSY across all fisheries. The Landing Obligation (LO), an EU law retained by the UK post-Brexit, requires all quota fish to be landed, even if unwanted (over-quota or below minimum size). It aims to encourage more selective fishing methods, reduce bycatch, and improve catch reporting. However, compliance is poor, and accurate discard levels are hard to quantify with current monitoring programmes. The UK is in the process of replacing the LO with country-specific Catching Policies. The Marine Conservation Society views Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) with cameras is one of the most cost-effective tools for providing reliable fisheries data and aiding informed management decisions. Fully monitored fisheries enhance collaboration, data accuracy, stock recovery, and reduce impacts on marine wildlife and habitats. However, the full potential of REM may only be achieved when it tracks fishing location and documents catch and bycatch, particularly where vulnerable species and habitats are at risk. As of January 2024, the EU is introducing a Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) mandate for EU vessels, including CCTV cameras on vessels 18m or more that pose a potential risk of non-compliance, within the next 4 years. Across the UK, different approaches to REM are being taken and legislation is expected to be in place across all 4 countries within the next few years. The Fisheries Act (2020) requires the development of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) (replacing EU Multi-Annual Plans) in the UK. 43 FMPs have been proposed and are at various stages of development and implementation, these should all be published by the end of 2028. FMPs have the potential to be very important tools for managing UK fisheries, although data limitations may delay them for some stocks. It is also essential the UK governments define and adopt a standardised approach or model across the four nations to a universally defined FMP design, to ensure the consistence, quality and coherence of all the proposal FMPs. The Marine Conservation Society is keen to see publicly available Fishery Management Plans for all commercially exploited stocks, especially where stocks are depleted, that include: An overview of the fishery including current stock status, spatial coverage, current fishing methods and impacts Targets for fishing pressure and biomass, and additional management when those targets are not being met, based on the best scientific evidence Timeframes for stock recovery Improved data collection, transparency, and accountability, supported by technologies such as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) Consideration of wider environmental impacts of the fishery, including habitat impacts and minimising bycatch

Some monkfish are caught using gillnets. Bycatch is moderate and may include vulnerable species.Most monkfish in 2021 was caught by demersal trawls (68-87%). Between 1-21% of the catch was from gillnets with a small amount caught in lobster trawls (6-11%), with proportions depending on the area fished.Gillnets have the potential to bycatch a number of species, including seabirds and marine mammals. Bycatch data is limited in many UK and EU fisheries as they are generally not well monitored. Set gillnets (GNS) account for around 50,000 days-at-sea across the Greater North Sea ecoregion, and this gear has relatively high bycatch rates for some marine mammals, including harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), and some limited catches of seabirds, predominantly common guillemot (Uria aalge).Gillnets are the main cause of harbour porpoise bycatch in the North East Atlantic, and the highest rates are in the North Sea. Estimates for 2020 are uncertain and range from 1,627-5,929 individuals. Suggested thresholds for a sustainable catch rate also vary, with OSPAR setting the threshold at 1,622 animals and NAMMCO setting it at 4,500 (1.3% of current abundance). NAMMCO notes that there is no clear trend in North Sea porpoise abundance. On this basis, we consider it possible that bycatch is having a population-level impact.Recent estimates for UK-wide guillemot bycatch are 1800-3300 per annum, mainly from static net fisheries. This could equate to 1% of the population. The species is amber listed in a number of conservation programmes, but populations appear to be increasing. This fishery does not, therefore, appear to be causing the population to decline or preventing it from increasing.Eight species of elasmobranchs that occur in the Greater North Sea ecoregion are listed on OSPAR’s list of threatened and declining species. Some of these are rare (e.g. basking shark, common skate, starry ray, and angel shark) and seldom caught in fisheries.Discard rates in gillnet fisheries with larger mesh sizes ( >100 mm) are generally low; although mammal and seabird bycatch does occur. Gillnet fisheries with smaller mesh sizes (90 mm) usually target sole and may have considerable discard rates of dab.Because of gillnets durability (they are made of nylon), if lost, they can continue to fish for several weeks before becoming tangled and bundled up, a phenomenon known as ghost fishing. However, static nets, as with all gear, represent an investment by fishermen, and therefore there are incentives to avoid losing or damaging gear.Some protected areas have been established across this fishery, which include prohibition of bottom set gill nets. These Rockall and Hatton Banks and Darwin Mounds, designed to protect cold-water corals, potential provide further incidental protection for spawning anglerfish.A Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP) was established for this fishery in 2022, with the first assessment against objectives due in 2023. The FIP aims to ensure that the fishery does not compromise stocks, recovery and conservation of other species caught as bycatch including: mackerel, squid, cod, common skate, starry ray and other endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species. It also includes an objective to develop a strategy to ensure impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) are at acceptable levels. It is too early to assess the progress of the FIP against objectives.To improve monitoring and reporting of fishing activity, MCS would like to see remote electronic monitoring (REM) with cameras implemented, used and enforced.