There is no management plan in place for yellow gurnard and management requires considerable improvement.There is currently no management for any of the gurnard species in the EU, e.g. no minimum conservation reference size (MCRS), no regulation on effort, gear or closed seasons (e.g. for spawning). No Total Allowable Catch (TAC) has been set for yellow gurnard in this area, and the EU Landings Obligation doesn't apply to this stock, as it is not subject to catch limits.Yellow gurnard is a very data limited species, with poor understanding of stock distribution and trends. ICES does not provided advice on yellow gurnard in this area. It is not a targeted stock, but is mainly caught as bycatch by the industrial fisheries, although when landed it is for human consumption. It is also caught in demersal fisheries for species such as cod and haddock. MCS would like to see bycatch species monitored and taken into account once fisheries management plans are implemented.Reporting at a species level has improved since 2012, allowing estimations of landings, but some are still reported as 'mixed gurnards' (e.g. Germany and England). Species misidentification continues to be a major problem in estimating the landings of all gurnards, including yellow gurnard.Both the EU and UK have fishery management measures in place, which can include catch limits, targets for population sizes and fishing mortality, and controls on what fishing gear can be used and where. In the EU, compliance with regulations has been variable, and there are ongoing challenges with implementing some of them. There was a target for fishing to be at Maximum Sustainable Yield by 2020, but this was not achieved. The Landing Obligation (LO), an EU law that the UK has kept after Brexit, requires all quota fish to be landed, even if they are unwanted (over-quota or below minimum size). It aims to promote more selective fishing methods, reduce bycatch, and improve recording of everything that is caught, not just what is wanted. Compliance with the LO is generally poor and actual levels of discards are difficult to quantify using the current fisheries observer programme. UK administrations are in the process of replacing the landing obligation with country-specific Catching Policies.In the UK, it is too early to tell how effective management is, as the Fisheries Act only came into force in January 2021. The Act requires the development of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) (replacing EU Multi-Annual Plans). FMPs are currently in development, but the scope of them remains unclear. They have the potential to be very important tools for managing UK fisheries, although data limitations may delay them for some stocks. MCS is keen to see publicly available FMPs for all commercially exploited stocks, especially where stocks are depleted, that include:Targets for fishing pressure and biomass, and additional management when those targets are not being met, based on the best available scientific evidenceTimeframes 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
