Several small, colourful fishing boats in Folkestone Harbour, with blue skies and the sun shining in the sky.

Climate change and fishing

Our ocean's health is vital in tackling the climate crisis and all industries operating across our seas have a role to play.

What is climate-smart fishing?

The fishing sector can reduce its impact on the environment. A climate-smart approach takes into account the various ways that the fishing sector impacts the environment through emissions, biodiversity loss and habitat damage and then seeks to address these issues. 

UK fishing needs to modernise and change. Our report with WWF and the RSPB outlines a way forward for the sector.

Read our Shifting Gears: Achieving Climate-smart Fisheries report

How do we achieve it?

Illustrations to show how UK fleets can reduce emissions. Text reads: Electric/hybrid, increased charging points, sail-powered fishing vessels, reduce use of intensive fishing gears, end fuel relief, alternative fuels, decarbonisation

Image credit: Pact Media

We achieve climate-smart practices by reducing carbon emissions that come directly from the UK fishing fleet, limiting damage from unsustainable fishing practices and protecting blue carbon habitats.

Our report outlines a number of practical solutions to achieve climate-smart fishing for the future:

  • Reduce pressure from fishing gear like trawls and dredges by incentivising a move to methods such as longlines.
  • Increase transparency and traceability across the UK fishing industry to improve understanding of the impact of fishing and aid stock recovery. This could be achieved by mandating the installation of Remote Electronic Monitoring systems with CCTV cameras across the UK fleet to provide a true picture of catch levels and data to improve management.
  • Ban bottom towed gear to protect blue carbon habitats within existing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) designated for seabed features, as well as limiting towed gear in important blue carbon sites outside current MPAs.
  • Create incentives to decarbonise the UK fishing fleet and eliminate inefficient fleet structures, for example by ending fossil fuel subsidies and encouraging fishers to move to electric and solar powered vessels.

Gareth Cunningham, our Director of Conservation & Policy says: “We need a modern approach to how we source our seafood. Not just to address the dual climate and nature crises, but to ensure that sustainable seafood is an integral part of the UK food system.

“Realising the benefits of climate-smart fishing is vital to restoring our marine environment, providing a healthy source of protein and a future for the industry that supplies it.”

We cannot build a sustainable, healthy seafood sector whilst damaging the marine environment.

Gareth Cunningham, Director of Conservation & Policy
A close up of two fishing boats resting on pebbles. One boat is a vivid red colour, and the other is a bright blue colour.

Image credit: Jack Clarke

The UK already has world-leading legislation in place to modernise the UK fisheries industry in the form of the UK Fisheries Act, 2020. The Fisheries Act sets out a clear objective to address the climate impact of fisheries, but action is yet to be taken.

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