Scampi or langoustine

In Aran, Galway Bay and Slyne Head, scampi, often referred to as Nephrops or Norway lobster, is data limited. There is concern for the biomass, and no concern for fishing pressure.Route 2 (data limited) scoring has been applied to this rating owing to the lack of reference points for biomass. Nephrops are considered to have a medium resilience to fishing pressure.Stock assessments are carried out annually by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The most recent assessment was published in 2025 using data up to 2025. The next assessment is expected in 2026.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 (GFG) applies its own definition of 1.4 x MSY BTrigger.Stock abundance in 2025 was estimated at 299 million individuals, down from 451 million in 2023. This level is below the target threshold (MSY BTrigger: 540 million). No lowest safe limit (Blim) has been defined for this stock, so the degree of depletion cannot be determined. Consequently, a data limited scoring is applied, and there is concern for the biomass.The total catch in 2024 was 333 tonnes. This is equivalent to a harvest rate of 3.3% of the population (by number). This is below the level associated with Maximum Sustainable Yield (FMSY, 8.5%). Therefore, there is no concern for fishing pressure.ICES advises that when the EU multiannual plan (MAP) for Western Waters and adjacent waters is applied, catches in 2026 should be between 251 and 288 tonnes. This assumes that discard rates and fishery patterns won't change from recent years. This is a 56% decrease from the previous years advice due to a lower estimated stock abundance.A 2011 study on Norway lobster in the Clyde found a high prevalence of plastics and suggested that this could have implications for the health of the stock - this may have relevance for other Norway lobster stocks. Some of the plastics were sourced to fishing waste. Studies have shown that the effects of climate change - warmer waters, reduced oxygen levels, higher ocean acidity, and higher levels of heavy metals - can negatively impact Norway lobsters' larval development and make adults more susceptible to disease. Lower oxygen levels can also cause Norway lobster to leave their burrows, making them easier to catch.

Some management measures are in place for Norway lobster in Aran, Galway Bay and Slyne Head. Catch limits don't match the stock area, meaning there is a risk of overfishing, and in the most recent year, catches where below advice.Norway lobster stock assessments are conducted by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Stock assessments are produced for 33 areas across the Northeast Atlantic, called Functional Units (FUs). However, management is applied to 18 areas, called management units. These management units broadly overlap with the functional units, but not very effectively. Vessels are free to move between grounds, allowing relatively uncontrolled fishing on some stocks, and risking overfishing. Scientists have repeatedly advised over the years that management should be implemented at the functional unit level, to better protect Norway lobster. This would result in fishing controls that respond to changes within individual stocks. This advice is not yet being followed, but there have been some discussions among the fishing industry and scientists about developing a long-term plan for the management of the Aran fishery.This stock is mainly fished by Ireland and the UK (Northern Ireland). It is covered by the EU's Western Waters Multi Annual management Plan (MAP), but the UK is not signed up to the MAP. There is no UK management plan for it.Catch limits (Total Allowable Catches, TACs) are in place; however, they are not specific to this Norway lobster stock. A single TAC applies to the entire Celtic Seas region (ICES Subarea 7), which includes eight different stocks. This broad approach does not ensure protection against overfishing for individual stocks.In the Aran, Galway Bay, and Slyne Head area, catches exceeded advice by an average of 45% between 2021 and 2023. In contrast, in 2024, total catch was 73% of advice, indicating that current catches are aligned with advice.There is a Minimum Conservation Reference Size of 25mm in the Celtic Seas. Under the EU Landings Obligation (LO) and UK law, it is illegal to discard unwanted (e.g. undersized or over-quota) Norway lobster at sea. However, there are exemptions in this area, because this species survives well after being discarded, even from trawlers. Discarding is still allowed in all creel fisheries and up to 5% can be discarded from trawlers. Compliance with the LO is poor throughout European fisheries. In this fishery, an average of 18.5% of the catch (by weight) was discarded between 2020 and 2024, which is higher than the 5% allowed.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 engagement

Trawling for Norway lobster can have an impact on seabed habitats, particularly on mud which is subjected to high disturbance by fishing. Bycatch may also be of concern.Norway lobster from Aran, Galway Bay and Slyne Head is caught by trawlers. In this area, Norway lobster trawlers use a small net mesh (80 mm), which can result in higher bycatch than the nets with larger mesh sizes, e.g. those used for species such as cod or haddock.Bycatch can include anglerfish, haddock, hake, whiting, megrim and dogfish. The whiting stock in this area is very depleted. However, the Porcupine Bank and Aran grounds areas (ICES areas b, c, j and k) account for much smaller landings of these species than other part of the Celtic and Irish Seas. Therefore, it is less likely that this fishery is contributing to the ongoing poor state of the whiting stock.Other bycatch could include skates, rays and sharks, including spurdog, which is endangered in Europe. These species are relatively hardy, and can survive when they are discarded, but their survival rates largely depend on how they were caught and handled. Mortality rates in otter trawls are shown to vary between 10-65%, depending on fishing and handling methods. Those vessels which employ codes of conduct on skate and ray handling and/or reduce the risk of their capture, will improve their survival rates, though many of these methods aren't implemented over whole functional unit or regional levels.To reduce bycatch, there are requirements to use selective gear (e.g. square-meshed panels of 120mm, or sorting grids) to allow unwanted catch to escape the nets. Around 55% of Irish vessels use separator trawls and 45% have opted to use Swedish grids to reduce bycatch. To further increase selectivity in the fishery, the Irish fishery is conducting gear trials through a Fishery Improvement Project. There have also been decommissioning schemes to reduce fishing effort.Norway lobster are mainly found in soft mud, and therefore trawling for this species takes place primarily on mud habitats. These habitats are listed by OSPAR as threatened and declining due to their burrowing megafauna, which create complex structures and deep oxygen penetration. Species in these habitats include long-lived ocean quahog, polychaete worms, soft corals, and tall sea pens. Fishing causes severe disturbance in mud habitats: a 2023 OSPAR report found that 87% of offshore circalittoral mud has experienced high disturbance, indicating inadequate protection. Prolonged trawling is likely to affect the structure, species composition, and biodiversity of the burrowed mud community.Parts of the Aran, Galway Bay and Slyne Head functional unit overlap with some Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), some of which are designated to protect seabed features from damaging activities. The proportion of the catch coming from these areas is expected to be relatively low in relation to the unit of assessment (i.e. less than 20% of the catch), and so these impacts have not been assessed within the scale of this rating. Given the important role that Marine Protected Areas (including MCZs) have in recovering the health and function of our seas, 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, Marine Conservation Society advises businesses to establish if the fishing activity is operating legally inside a designated and managed MPA, and to 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).

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