Government criticised over EU fishing deal ‘betrayal’: Critics have condemned Keir Starmer’s fishing deal with the EU, labelling it “a horror show” for the industry, after he granted European trawler fleets twelve years of access to UK waters. The agreement extends the current fisheries deal until 2038, which the prime minister claims will benefit the British fishing industry by removing costly post-Brexit barriers. Additionally, Starmer announced a £360 million fund to support fishing communities and upgrade British fishing vessels. Addressing the media, Starmer stated: “It’s time to look forward. To move on from the stale old debates and political fights to find common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people.” While the core elements of the deal remain unchanged from the Conservatives’ post-Brexit fisheries agreement of 2020, criticisms persist. Tory Party leader Kemi Badenoch argued that the 12-year timeframe far exceeds the government’s original goal, as a four-year extension had originally been planned. In the 2020 post-Brexit deal, the government aimed for EU fishermen to relinquish 80 percent of their catch in British waters, but the EU yielded just 25 per cent. This led to an increase of less than 10 percent in the UK’s catch share. This has now been locked in for the next twelve years, leading to betrayal claims from much of the British fishing industry. Read more by clicking here.
EU fail in plan to continue sandeel fishing in UK waters: The European Union has failed in its attempt to continue industrial fishing of sandeel in English and Scottish waters. Sandeels – which are, despite their name, are not eels but a small species of fish – are vitally important to marine ecosystems as a huge range of fish and seabirds feed on them. EU fishery for sandeels is dominated by Denmark, which has 96 per cent of the quota for this species, and prior to Brexit, Danish vessels could freely catch sandeels in British waters. But in 2024, the British government closed the nation’s waters to all sandeel fishing on the basis of scientific advice, which said the stocks were too low and the continued exploitation of the species would have serious ramifications for marine ecosystems. The EU disputed this, claiming, against scientific advice, that the sandeel stocks were healthy and took legal action to force Britain to open its waters to the Danish sandeel fleet. The case went to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which this month dismissed the EU’s attempts to overturn the ban. The RSPB gave evidence in the court case, and the oganisation’s CEO, Beccy Speight, told the BBC: “We are absolutely delighted the panel has found the ecological case for the closure of industrial sandeel fishing is sound. Safeguarding sandeel stocks is a key part of the jigsaw that will help set our puffins, kittiwakes and the wider marine environment on the path to recovery.” However, there was some confusion as the court’s ruling, which was nearly 300 pages long, did agree with the EU that the closure of the sandeel fishery breached some aspects of the UK’s post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, although the British government said that this in no way meant that the sandeel fishery had to be reopened. Click here to read more.
Porbeagle shark helped back into sea by public: Members of the public worked together to help a stranded shark return to deeper waters near Aberystwyth Pier, Ceredigion this month. The 1.5 metre (5ft) shark, believed to be a porbeagle, had attracted attention from swimmers and beachgoers as it was seen in shallow water. Porbeagles are frequent visitors to UK shores and can reach lengths of up to 3.5 metre (11ft). Witnesses called the Coastguard which arrived to ensure public safety, and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) also sent members to the scene. BDMLR advised against handling sharks to avoid injury, as porbeagles are not aggressive but may bite when handled. Sophie Griffiths, 35, from Aberystwyth, said her nine-year-old son had been swimming shortly before the sighting. “I heard someone say ‘shark’ and initially thought it was a hoax,” she said. Max Walker, who observed the shark from Aberystwyth Pier, said that the animal seemed disoriented, swimming back and forth along the beach. The BDMLR reported the shark’s dorsal fin was flushed red—an indication of distress and poor oxygenation. Despite efforts, the shark remained close to shore for hours, drawing a large crowd, before it managed to move away into deeper water. Read more here.
PETA calls for Cromer crab festival to use apples: An animal rights organisation has called for a significant change to the World Pier Crabbing Championships at the Cromer Crab and Lobster Festival in Norfolk. PETA proposed replacing the crabbing competition with a ‘Crab Appling Championship’, suggesting participants fish for crab apples instead of actual crabs. Held each May, the festival celebrates Cromer’s fishing heritage with seafood stalls, cooking demonstrations, family activities, and the crabbing contest – a crowd favourite where attendees catch non-edible crabs using lines and bait. Hilary Cox, the festival’s president, responded: “While we appreciate their concern for the well-being of animals, suggesting crab apples, which are out of season, is not feasible at this time.” PETA argued that crabs could experience painful injuries when removed from their habitat and struggle to survive even if released back into the sea. Dawn Carr, PETA’s vice president of vegan corporate projects, remarked: “While crab apples only have peels, crabs have feels. Like all animals, they deserve to live free from human cruelty.” The organisation’s letter to Ms Cox advocated fishing for apples instead of crabs to make the festival “greener and kinder,” while also highlighting concerns about the treatment of other marine animals in commercial fishing practices. Read more by clicking here.
Fishermen lost at sea rescued after fifty-five days: A group of five South American fishermen, three of whom were from Peru and two from Colombia, who had been missing since mid-March, have been found alive. The fishermen had reported that the alternator of their boat stopped working two days into their voyage, meaning the vessel’s navigation and communication systems stopped functioning. Their boat floated powerless for weeks, with the men surviving by drinking rainwater and “rusted water out of the engine” and by eating fish which they caught from the side of their boat. They were eventually rescued when an Ecuadorian tuna fishing boat, the Aldo, came across them on 7 May. The Ecuadorian authorities said that the men were in a stable condition in hospital and arrangements were being made to return the men to their home countries. Read more here.
Call for cull of cormorants to protect fish stocks: The European Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Commission (EIFAAC), which is part of the Food and Agriculture Organisartion of the United Nations, has proposed a coordinated culling strategy to address the increasing numbers and expanding range of great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) across Europe. According to the commission, the growing cormorant population, which has risen from 15,000 breeding pairs in the 1970s to between 400,000 and 500,000 pairs by 2021, has significantly impacted fisheries and aquaculture production, causing economic losses in fresh and coastal waters. It is estimated that each cormorant consumes 180 kilograms (397 pounds) of fish annually, leading to a total consumption of 270 million kilograms (596 million pounds) of fish per year by Europe’s entire cormorant population. The proposal includes plans to cull 150,000 adult cormorants or destroy 50 per cent of their eggs. However, BirdLife International, a conservation group, criticised this approach, calling it a “dangerous precedent” for managing human-wildlife conflicts. Conservationist Richard King, author of the book The Devil’s Cormorant, argues that cormorants have been unfairly blamed for fisheries’ decline for centuries, pointing to historical demonisation in Europe and North America. He noted cultural references, from the Bible to Shakespeare, which vilify the birds due to their dark appearance and ability to swallow large fish. As yet no official plans for a cull have been put in place. Click here to read more on this story.
LED lights prove effective in catching shrimps: Pots used to catch shrimp had significantly higher catch levels when they were fitted with LED lights, research by the University of Exeter and Fishtek Marine has discovered. Dr Robert Enever from Fishtek Marine – a conservation engineering company which uses technology to reduce bycatch – told the BBC that the LED lights attracted zooplankton, which in turn attracted the shrimp. This could eventually lead to self-baiting pots in shrimp fisheries. The research was carried out off the west coast of Scotland, and it is hoped that if it is further developed, this type of shrimp pot could reduce the amount of highly environmentally damaging trawling for shrimp, which takes place. Read more here.
First ever footage of bottom trawling on ocean floor: A new film featuring David Attenborough has shown what is believed to be the first ever footage of a seabed trawl in action as well as the resultant damage to the marine environment this type of commercial fishing causes. Released to celebrate Sir David’s ninety-ninth birthday, Ocean displays footage of a large net being dragged across the seabed with everything in its path being indiscriminately caught and brought up to the surface. This has led to Labour MP Sarah Champion to call for a ban on seabed trawling in the UK’s marine protected areas, and conservation organisations such as Oceana UK, Blue Marine Foundation and Greenpeace UK to call for a full ban on seabed trawling. Read more on this story by clicking here.
UK marine protected areas subject to seabed trawling: In a familiar story which has been reported multiple times over recent years, the UK’s supposedly protected marine areas have again been subjected to tens of thousands of hours of trawling, much of which is suspected to be the most damaging variety of seabed trawling. Research by the conservation organisation Oceana, which was reported in the Express, said that marine protected areas were subjected to around 20,000 hours of trawling last year. Around 55 per cent of this was carried out by French fishing vessels, and around 19 per cent by British fishing boats. Alyx Elliot, the campaigns director of Oceana UK told the Express: “Bottom trawling is devastating our seas. Across our ‘protected’ havens for nature, weighted nets are clear felling the forests of the ocean floor and butchering our marine wildlife wholesale. The UK currently has the worst of all worlds: the illusion of protection masing ongoing destruction.” Oceana released the news in a report entitled The Trawled Truth which also revealed that only thirty-eight of the UK’s 377 marine protected areas have seabed trawling completed banned within them. Read more by clicking here.
Investigation finds widespread mislabelling of bass and bream: Bass and bream which is sold to UK consumers is widely mislabelled as responsibly sourced, when the fish have been raised on unsustainably gathered fish meal. The investigation was carried out as part of a collaboration between the Guardian and DeSmog – and international journalism initiative which focuses on the environment. The found that fish, mostly bass and bream, from Turkish fish farms were being sold to UK consumers at retailers such as Asda, Lidl, Co-Op, Aldi and Waitrose. However, the Turkish fish has been raised by being fed fishmeal made from small forage fish from West African waters. In this way nations such as Senegal are effectively emptying their own waters of fish to create fishmeal, which is then used to feed bass and bream for Western consumers. These consumers are kept in the dark about this, as the labelling of the fish will only say that it is farmed in Turkey and provide no information on the origin of the fish meal which was used to raise the fish. When the Guardian presented Lidl, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose with the findings of the investigation, they refused to comment, instead referring the newspaper to a statement from the British Retail Council which read, in part: “Retailers adhere to all legal requirements around product labelling. They ensure high standards are upheld throughout their supply chains through third-party certified verification.” Morrisons and Aldi said that they did not source fish from Turkish fish farms which used Senegalese-sourced fishmeal, but did not say if they had in the past. Read the full investigation here.