Whiting

Data surrounding Rockall whiting is limited, and both biomass and fishing pressure appear to be of concern.Route 2 scoring has been applied to this rating owing to the lack of reference points for biomass and fishing pressure. Whiting are considered to have medium resilience.Stock assessments are carried out by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The most recent report was published in 2024 using data up to 2023. The next report is expected in 2027.There is no stock assessment for Rockall whiting. It is classed as a category 6 stock - the most data deficient category. There is no information on discards or biomass. The only available data are on landings, which have fluctuated significantly and are uncertain. In the 1960s, landings were around 3,000 tonnes and then dropped to near zero in the late 1970s. There was a small peak of 500 tonnes in 1990. Since then, landings have been negligible, often below 10 tonnes.It is likely that there is no self-sustaining whiting stock in this area, and fish are probably coming from the West of Scotland stock. This is supported by the Rockall haddock survey (2012 - 2018) where whiting over the age of 1 have been recorded in very low numbers (mostly less than 10). Therefore, biomass is of concern.Whiting landings from Rockall have been above the recommended catch since 2014, thus fishing pressure is of concern.Whiting is mainly landed by Scottish and Irish fleets. When the precautionary approach is applied, less than 6 tonnes of whiting should be landed per year from 2025-2027. This is a 20% decrease in advice from 2022 – 2024.

Few appropriate management measures are in place. Catch limits for Rockall whiting have been set significantly higher than scientific advice in recent years. Management is therefore not following scientific advice.Whiting in Rockall are taken as a bycatch in fisheries for other species such as haddock and anglerfish. Relatively small quantities of the species are caught by commercial fishers, and few are recorded in scientific surveys in the area.There are no stock assessments, reference points or management plans for whiting in the Rockall area. The EU multiannual plan (MAP) for stocks in Western Waters does not cover whiting in 6b. The minimum conservation reference size (MCRS) or landing size is 27cm. Although there are no reference points for whiting, maximum landing advice has been recommended using the precautionary approach since 2013.Preliminary reports for 2023 indicate that landings advice was exceeded. Reported catches and landings have consistently exceeded precautionary advice for Rockall whiting since 2014. Landings advice for 2024-2027 has been reduced to 6 tonnes or less. However, evidence from recent years indicates that fishing pressure and landings of whiting in Rockall do not follow advice and are therefore not effectively managed.The management area does not relate directly to the stock area. Rockall whiting is managed under a total allowable catch (TAC) of 3163 tonnes for 5b, 6a, 6b, 12 and 14 combined. Additionally, Rockall whiting are considered so depleted that catches in the area may potentially be part of the adjacent 6a (West of Scotland) stock. Additionally, there is no agreed shared management plan for this stock and TACs have been set higher than advice since ICES advice was first provided in 2013.Therefore, current management measures do not effectively assess and improve stock status for Rockall whiting or accurately reflect the stock using the area. This is particularly concerning when the stock is data limited.Landing data are available although older records are not considered reliable. Some discard data is available however, the estimates are too uncertain to quantify total discards. Therefore, total catches and landing trends can’t be accurately monitored.Bottom trawling and fishing with static gear is closed in multiple areas around the Rockall Bank including the northwest and southwest Rockall Bank area and the Haddock Box. The former two are closed to protect Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) and the latter to protect haddock stocks. These closures are expected to be reviewed in 2027. Species such as whiting may also benefit from areas closed to fishing.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 impactsTargets for fishing pressure and biomass, and additional management when those targets are not being met, based on the best scientific evidenceTimeframes for stock recoveryImproved 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 bycatchStakeholder engagementA North Sea Whiting FMP has been proposed, coordinated by Marine Scotland that incorporates this stock. At the time of writing, it is too soon to know whether proposed management measures will be effective in managing the stock. For more information about this FMP and expected progress and timelines, see [https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fisheries-management-plans#published-fmps].

Most Rockall whiting are caught by bottom trawl as a bycatch, which is likely to cause some damage to the seabed. In this area, there are concerns that trawling could be affecting vulnerable marine habitats. Bycatch is moderate and may include vulnerable species such as blue and flapper skate.Bottom trawlers interact with the seabed and can modify bottom topography and cause damage and removal of some biogenic features including vulnerable marine habitats and benthic communities. They can also bycatch vulnerable species. The fishery is a mixed demersal species, targeting gadoids and monkfish, where whiting is bycatch. Therefore, the bycatch scoring is not applied here. Most target species are not overfished or undergoing overfishing, however, there are some concerns over Endangered, Threatened or Protected (ETP) species catch and a lack of data to verify their catch rates.Whiting is mainly caught as bycatch by vessels targeting gadoid and anglerfish species. Therefore, management measures are largely applied to the demersal stocks. In the mixed gadoid demersal fishery, blue and flapper skate, mitigation measures include a prohibition on landing either species, and some protection for nursery areas. It is not clear if this fishery is having an impact at population level as there is not enough data about stock trends. There is not currently enough data to quantify population trends. Therefore, there is potential for this fishery to be having an impact on these species.Work is underway to trial selective gears and develop tools to reduce bycatch. In the West of Scotland, this includes BATmap (By-catch Avoidance Tool using mapping), launched in 2020. It allows real-time reporting of bycatch of cod and spurdog to identify areas for skippers to avoid. Work is ongoing to refine and roll it out further. Innovation such as this is a very positive and vital step forward for minimising bycatch in mixed fisheries.Demersal trawls have contact with the seabed resulting in penetration and abrasion of habitat features. The impact of trawling on the seabed depends on the location and scale in which trawling occurs. For example, areas that are used to natural disturbance through tides and waves, are less sensitive to habitat impacts. Areas not used to mobile towed gears are typically more sensitive to trawling. This can include deeper waters such as those where the Rockall fishery takes place, where there are Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) like corals, sponges and sea pens.Fishing effort in the Celtic Seas region decreased by 35% between 2003 and 2014, which is reducing pressure on the seabed and on bycatch species. An estimated 61% of the Celtic Sea region, which extends from western Scotland to the English Channel, was trawled in 2022. 88% of the zone between 400m and 800m has been fished. From 2009-2011, 95% of areas containing VMEs were fished. Fishing-induced physical disturbance is estimated to have resulted in an overall decrease of invertebrate benthic biomass varying between 59% in offshore mud and 5% in sandy habitats compared to an unfished state. This impact is patchy and may be over 80% in the most heavily fished areas.Mitigation measures include a ban on bottom trawling below 800m, and restrictions from 400-600m – the areas where most VMEs are found. It is estimated that approximately 70% of seapen habitat in this area is closed to fishing, through inaccessibility to trawls or Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). There are several closures in the Rockall area to protect VMEs. This includes the Rockall Haddock Box, Logachev Mounds, Hatton Bank and others. Trawling is banned from these areas. However, there remains some uncertainty about the location of some sensitive seabed habitats. If fishers encounter VMEs outside of the closed areas, there is no requirement to move on (unlike in the certified fishery). Therefore, there remains a risk that VMEs could be trawled.If Marine Protected Areas are well-managed, they can provide protection to VMEs, but poorly managed MPAs will mean they are at risk. Given the important role that MPAs have in recovering the health and function of our seas, The Marine Conservation Society encourages the supply chain to identify if their specific sources are being caught from within MPAs. If sources are suspected of coming from within designated and managed MPAs, the Marine Conservation Society advises businesses to establish if the fishing activity is operating legally inside a designated and managed MPA, and request evidence from the fishery or managing authority to demonstrate that the activity is not damaging to protected features or a threat to the conservation objectives of the site(s).To improve monitoring and reporting of fishing activity, the Marine Conservation Society would like to see remote electronic monitoring (REM) with cameras implemented, used and enforced. ​To reduce the impacts of fishing on the marine environment we would like to see a just transition to the complete removal of bottom towed gear from offshore Marine Protected Areas designated to protect the seabed. We also want to see reduction and mitigation of environmental impacts including emissions and blue carbon habitat damage.