Haddock

The population of haddock in Rockall is abundant and harvested sustainably.Stock assessments are conducted by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The most recent assessment was published in 2025 using data up to 2024. In 2024, the stock assessment was benchmarked and changed from category 3 to category 1 (data-rich) with revised reference points. After shifting to an age-based assessment (SAM), survey data has been revised and biological parameters updated.The stock assessment defines reference points for fishing pressure (F) and biomass (B). For fishing pressure, there is a target to keep F at or below Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). For biomass, there is no target. However, there is a trigger point (MSY Btrigger). Below this level, F should be reduced to allow the stock to increase. Because BMSY is not defined, the Good Fish Guide applies its own definition of 1.4 x MSY Btrigger.Between 2011 and 2013, biomass (B) dropped below Blim (8542 tonnes), reflecting a period of severely low recruitment from 2008 to 2012. Biomass has gradually increased from 8267 tonnes in 2013 to 36,702 tonnes in 2022. Following a very high recruitment year in 2022, biomass has more than doubled to 85,868 tonnes in 2025. This exceeds the MSY Btrigger set at 12,877 tonnes, as well as the BMSY proxy at 18,028 tonnes. Therefore, the stock is considered to be underfished.Fishing mortality (F) has been gradually decreased from 0.84 in 1991 to 0.22 in 2011, falling below FMSY (0.28). Fishing mortality has remained relatively stable below FMSY since 2011, peaking at FMSY in 2021 and 2022. In 2024, F was estimated at 0.059, which is the lowest it has been in the timeseries. As this is also below FMSY, the stock is considered to be harvested sustainably.ICES advises that when the MSY approach is applied, catches in 2026 should be no more than 20,432 tonnes. This is a 35% decrease from 2025, reflecting a downward revision of the estimated strong year class of 2022.

Some appropriate management measures are in place, but there is no joint management plan covering all fisheries. There has been evidence of non-compliance in recent years, which was being addressed by the MSC-certified fishery.Until December 2023, roughly 75% of the Rockall haddock fishery was MSC-certified, and caught by the Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG). SFSAG had addressed some compliance issues by removing non-compliant vessels from the certification. However, they were unable to verifiably separate the catches from the non-compliant vessels after their removal. The risk of uncertified products being sold as certified meant that, as of 12th October 2023, no Rockall haddock could be sold with the MSC label. On 6th December 2023, SFSAG withdrew from certification. Therefore, the certified rating on the Good Fish Guide applies only to products that were caught in line with MSC traceability requirements prior to 12th October 2023.Certification for the Rockall fishery was conditional on making some improvements to management. This included developing a Harvest Control Strategy and demonstrating compliance with the Landing Obligation. The certification was suspended in 2022 following incursions into closed areas, but was reinstated following actions by government and the SFSAG. This included SFSAG suspending vessels who were found to have trawled inside the Rockall haddock box. There were requirements to prove that this has been fully addressed. Certification reports concluded that as only a few vessels were involved, there was not widespread non-compliance or IUU in the certified fleet. Further details about management in this fishery are below.Most catches of Rockall haddock are by Scotland (accounting for over 80% of landings, excluding discards), followed by Ireland, Russia, and Norway. It is a straddling stock, caught in EU, UK and international waters.There is no joint management plan for Rockall haddock, although catch limits are agreed between the EU and UK. In EU waters, the stock is covered by the Western Waters Multi-Annual Plan (MAP), but the UK is not signed up to this. The North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) has proposed a Harvest Control Rule for Rockall haddock in international waters, which has been found to be precautionary. The proposals include limits on how much catch limits can change from year to the next, which help to stabilise the fishery when scientific advice fluctuates. 15-10% of the UK catch comes from international (NEAFC) waters.The main management measure is through catch limits (Total Allowable Catches, TACs), which apply to UK and EU vessels only - and therefore do not limit catches by Russia and Norway. From 2017-2020 and again in 2022 the TAC was set in line with scientific recommendations. In 2021 the the TAC was 34% higher than the advice owing to a limit on how much it could be decreased from year to year. Management therefore has generally been following scientific recommendations. Catches have generally been below the TAC, averaging around around 5,600 tonnes from 2017-2021, which is 77% of the average TAC. The lack of a TAC for Russia and Norway is not currently resulting in overfishing, but the lack of a coordinated management approach means that the risk remains.A protected area, known as the Rockall Haddock Box, has been closed to fishing since 2001 to protect young haddock. It straddles NEAFC, EU and UK waters. Longlining is permitted as it is more size-selective and less likely to catch juveniles. Analysis of the haddock box shows that it coincides with a high density of juveniles, but that high densities of juveniles are also found outside the box. The overall impact of the closure on the haddock stock is difficult to assess. The box also contains some vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) including sea pens, sponges and corals.There appear to have been incursions by a few trawlers into the haddock box. There were concerns for systematic non-compliance with the trawling ban in that area in 2020, including tampering with vessel monitoring systems (VMS). This mostly happened at night, when there are no aerial patrols. Incursions continued in 2021 and 2022, but at lower levels. The MSC-certified component of the fishery was suspended as a result. It is not clear whether trawlers from the uncertified fleet were also responsible. Marine Scotland and the certified fleet have taken action to address this non-compliance, including legal proceedings and additional monitoring and reporting requirements. Following the measures taken, the MSC certification has been reinstated, but is conditional on proving that compliance has improved. The certification reinstatement report noted that a loss of earnings during the suspension has been a motivator to improve compliance. For the uncertified fishery, where this motivation is not present, it is unclear whether the compliance issues have been and will remain resolved.Other management measures include:Within EU and UK waters, haddock can legally be caught and sold at 30 cm. Below this Minimum Conservation Reference Size, haddock have to be landed but can't be sold for human consumption and so have a lower value. ICES considers juveniles to be 25cm, so this does protect fish that haven't yet had a chance to spawn. However, there is no minimum size for international vessels in international waters.In the EU and UK, the minimum mesh size that trawl nets may use is 120mm, to prevent catching undersize cod, haddock or saithe. Smaller mesh can be used if by-catches of those species do not exceed 20% of the total by weight, or if there are selectivity modifications.It is illegal to discard unwanted (e.g. below-minimum-size) haddock at sea. Estimated discards of haddock in EU & UK waters were very high during the 1990s, sometimes up to 75% of the total catch. Since larger mesh was introduced, discards have decreased, averaging 10% during 2017-2021. There was an increase to 20% in 2021.As well as the haddock box, other areas have been closed to bottom fishing since 2007 to protect cold-water corals: North West Rockall, Logachev Mounds, and West Rockall Mounds, and Empress of the British Banks.In general, compliance with fisheries regulations in the EU and UK has been variable, and challenges remain in implementing some measures. The current observer program makes it difficult to accurately quantify discards, as coverage is very low.In the UK, the effectiveness of management measures under the Fisheries Act, which came into force in 2021, is yet to be determined. Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) are being developed but do not currently cover this fishery.We are keen to see publicly available FMPs for all commercially exploited stocks, particularly for depleted stocks. They should include stock targets based on scientific evidence and timeframes for stock recovery. There should be improved data collection, transparency, and accountability, supported by technologies such as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM), and consideration of wider environmental impacts.

Most haddock catches are by otter trawls. In this area, there are concerns that trawling could be affecting vulnerable marine habitats. Bycatch may include vulnerable species such as blue and flapper skate and cod. The certified fleet had taken steps to address this.More than 99% of Rockall haddock catches are by demersal otter trawling, with the remainder by longlining. The fishery takes place in EU, UK and international waters.Until December 2023, roughly 75% of the Rockall haddock fishery was MSC-certified, and caught by the Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG). SFSAG had addressed some compliance issues by removing non-compliant vessels from the certification. However, they were unable to verifiably separate the catches from the non-compliant vessels after their removal. The risk of uncertified products being sold as certified meant that, as of 12th October 2023, no Rockall haddock could be sold with the MSC label. On 6th December 2023, SFSAG withdrew from certification. Therefore, the certified rating on the Good Fish Guide applies only to products that were caught in line with MSC traceability requirements prior to 12th October 2023.SFSAG had put a number of measures in place to reduce the impacts of the fishery.Demersal otter trawls have the potential to take relatively high quantities of bycatch. In the Northeast Atlantic there are reported catches of demersal elasmobranchs and endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species (e.g. sharks, rays and marine mammals). Bycatch data is limited in many UK and EU fisheries as they are generally not well monitored. However, a proportion of the haddock fishery in Rockall is Marine Stewardship Council-certified and records bycatch. MCS assumes these records would also represent bycatch concerns in the uncertified components. Bycatch in the certified fishery is mainly anglerfish, but it can also include cod and whiting. Endangered, threatened or protected species include the Critically Endangered common skate complex (blue skate and flapper skate).Rockall whiting and cod are very data limited, and it is unclear what level of fishing pressure is appropriate. However, the advised catch limits are regularly exceeded, and it is likely that the haddock fishery is part of the reason for this.For 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. The MSC Surveillance report suggests that is is not, because of limited spatial overlap and an increase in sightings that could imply population increases. However, 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.An estimated 45% of the Celtic Sea region, which extends from western Scotland to the English Channel, was trawled in 2018. 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 a number of 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. MSC reports note that this fishery operates shallower than 400m, which reduces the likelihood of interactions. However, there remains some uncertainty about the location of some sensitive seabed habitats. SFSAG follow the recommendations of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) from bottom trawling. This includes recording encounters with VMEs and moving out of the VME area.There appear to have been incursions by a few trawlers into the Rockall haddock box, where there are some VME habitats. There were concerns for systematic non-compliance with the trawling ban in that area in 2020. Incursions continued in 2021 and 2022 but at lower levels. The MSC-certified component of the fishery was suspended as a result, but has been reinstated following actions by regulators and the certified fleet. The certification reinstatement report noted that a loss of earnings during the suspension has been a motivator to improve compliance. Among other actions, SFSAG will suspend vessels from the group if they are found to have trawled in prohibited areas. The certification is conditional on proving that the measures have been successful.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, MCS 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, MCS 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, MCS 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.

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