Sea Fishing News

Read all of the latest news about angling, commercial fishing, conservation and other issues relating to the marine environment from the UK and beyond.

August 2026 News

Iceland votes against talks to rejoin European Union: Iceland has voted against reopening talks to join the EU, with issues around fishing rights playing a major role in the decision. Iceland previously held talks to join the EU in 2009, after the country was badly affected by the global financial crisis the previous year. However, the talks were called off in 2013 when a centre-right government came to power, leaving Iceland applying for full EU membership as an ongoing political issue. Current Icelandic prime minister Kristin Frostadottir promised a vote on restarting the talks by the end of 2027, citing raising global tensions and Donald Trump’s attempts to take over Greenland as reasons for bringing the referendum forward. Around 270,000 of Iceland’s 400,000 people were eligible to vote in the referendum, and Iceland’s public broadcaster RÚV reported that 52.8 per cent rejected the plan to reopen talks, with 47.2 per cent backing the proposal. While Iceland is already in the EU’s Schengen free-travel zone and single market, its status as a non-EU member means it retains the right to control its own fisheries, which are, along with non-EU member Norway, the most productive in Europe. If Iceland were to join the EU, it would also need to join the Common Fisheries Policy, which would eventually mean allowing EU vessels to access Icelandic fishing grounds. Fishing makes up 8 per cent of Iceland’s GDP and around 40 per cent of overall exports, and losing control of this was seen as a central point in Iceland’s rejection of the proposal to open talks on rejoining the EU. Read more by clicking here.

North East piers to remain closed following vandalism: The piers which protect the River Tyne will remain closed after they were damaged by vandals. Eight specialist glass blocks on the North Pier were smashed near the lighthouse, leaving navigation equipment exposed to the elements. On the South Pier, an additional set of security gates, which were installed to allow limited public access to the first section of the pier, were damaged days after being installed. Overall, more than £180,000 has been spent repairing vandalism damage over the last three years on the two piers. The Port of Tyne authority told the Northern Echo: “While some have questioned why the entire pier must close following damage in one location, the reality is that public safety must come first. The damaged area presents a risk to visitors and has left important infrastructure vulnerable to further damage and the elements. Until the area can be fully assessed, repaired and made safe, public access cannot resume.” They also added that the most recent damage will cost a futher £20,000 to repair. Read more here.

First tuna in ninety years caught in the North Sea: A huge bluefin tuna has been caught off the coast of Whitby, the first captured in the North Sea in almost ninety years. The bluefin tuna weighed 746lb and was landed by the crew of the fishing vessel Dominator. Bluefin tuna had been present in the North Sea in the first half of the twentieth century, attracting a big game fishery to the region. However, their numbers died out in the second half of the century, possibly because of the overfishing of the tuna’s primary prey source of herring. While tuna have returned to British waters (and a small-scale fishery has reopened to target the species), this has mostly been around the south and west of England and parts of Wales. This catch marks the return of the species to the North Sea and is further evidence of the species’ return to British waters. Read more on this story by clicking here. Later in the month, the BBC ran an article asking if giant tuna fishing could make a comeback off the coast of Yorkshire. Remarking that the species is still known as ‘tunny’ in Scarborough and Whitby, the article stated that big game tuna fishing of the 1930s could make a comeback following recent catches, which the article states are in “plentiful supply.” While there are currently only a small number of licence holders permitted to catch North Sea tuna, this could soon change if numbers continue to increase. Read more on the BBC News website here.

(Relatively) rare sunfish washes up on UK beach: A tropical ocean sunfish has washed ashore on a north Wales beach, with experts suggesting a recent run of hot weather may have contributed to an increase in sightings. The fish was photographed by Cheshire photographer Gray Eaton at Traeth Trwyn y Fach in Abersoch, Gwynedd. Recognisable for its distinctive flattened, circular body, the ocean sunfish is the world’s second-largest bony fish and typically visits British waters during summer to feed on jellyfish. Marine Environmental Monitoring’s Wales strandings co-ordinator, Mat Westfield, said reports of sunfish and jellyfish had increased around Welsh and Cornish waters this summer. He said warmer seas were contributing to changes in the species found around the coastline, although the long-term effects remained difficult to assess. The ocean sunfish is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN, while population estimates remain uncertain. Click here to read more on this story.

TV presenter sparks criticism by releasing live lobsters into the sea: Former TV presenter Noel Edmonds has been criticised after he released two shop-bought lobsters into the sea. Writing on his Instagram account, Edmonds said that he and his wife felt “uncomfortable” after seeing the lobsters in a tank. He then went on to describe how they purchased the lobsters, which were then dropped into the sea at Peel Harbour on the Isle of Man. Edmonds seemed pleased with his actions, saying in the video that the water in the harbour contained “nice fresh water” and it was a “wonderful place.” However, someone claiming to be a marine biologist said in the comments that releasing captive lobsters into the sea risked disease transfer and genetic mixing with wild populations. Others stated that the pair had effectively killed the lobsters by releasing them into the sea, while it was also pointed out that the sellers may simply purchase more lobsters to replace those that were sold. Edmonds later disabled Instagram comments on the Instagram post. Many national media outlets then picked up on the story, bringing it to wider attention. Read more by clicking here.

Historic trawler Arctic Corsair completes move to new home: Hull’s Arctic Corsair, the city’s last surviving sidewinder trawler, has arrived at its new home at the North End Shipyard. The vessel left Albert Dock amf travelled along the Humber before being carefully manoeuvred into the recently renovated shipyard. Crowds gathered before dawn to watch the operation, which had taken years to plan and involved the temporary opening of four bridges. Robin Diaper, curator of social and maritime history at Hull Maritime Museum, described the occasion as both exciting and satisfying, saying the restored trawler would give visitors a sense of the scale of Hull’s once vast fishing industry. The aim, he said, was to preserve the atmosphere of a working vessel from the 1960s, as if its crew had only just stepped ashore. The move required careful calculations of tides, weather, river conditions and navigation, with tugs Lashette and Shovette guiding the ship through several difficult sections of the route. Hundreds of spectators lined the Humber, Hull Marina and the river, cheering as the vessel passed. Its arrival marks the culmination of a painstaking restoration project and secures a permanent home for a vessel that has become both a symbol of Hull’s fishing heritage and a memorial to the thousands of fishermen who died at sea. Read more on the BBC News website by clicking here.

Orca known for ramming boats found with suspected pellet gun wounds: Spanish authorities have opened an investigation after Toñi, the oldest surviving member of the Iberian orca population, was found with injuries to her dorsal fin consistent with pellet-gun fire. The environment ministry said the orca was observed in the Strait of Gibraltar on Friday with marks that appeared to have been caused by multiple shots. Some pellets were reportedly still embedded in her fin, potentially leaving her vulnerable to infection. Spanish officials are liaising with Portuguese authorities after the injuries were discovered following the pod’s movement from waters near Faro. Iberian orcas attracted international attention in 2020 after repeatedly ramming and damaging boats, with several vessels eventually sunk. Scientists have generally rejected descriptions of the behaviour as attacks, suggesting it may instead involve play or hunting practice. Conservationists have condemned the shooting, warning that the already critically endangered population numbers only about thirty to forty animals. Researchers say the orcas face numerous pressures, including declining food supplies, pollution, injuries and heavy shipping traffic. Janek Andre of Iberian Orca Guardians said that whatever view people took of the animals’ behaviour, shooting at them could never be justified and that the population required protection rather than retaliation. Click here to read more.

The Guardian asks why farming octopus is such a problem: In 2022, Spain’s largest fisheries company, Nueva Pescanova, announced plans to invest €65m (£56m) in what was billed as the world’s first industrial-scale octopus farm and processing facility near the port of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Despite the challenges involved in raising octopuses commercially, the company expected to produce 3,000 tonnes a year on Gran Canaria by 2025. The proposal sparked years of opposition from scientists and animal welfare campaigners, who questioned the ethics of farming an animal increasingly recognised for its intelligence and capacity for sentience. In July 2026, Nueva Pescanova abandoned the project, citing “business and regulatory” reasons in a letter to the Canary Islands port authority. While campaigners portrayed the decision as a victory, local journalist Silvia Fernández Díaz said protests had generally attracted only a few dozen people and argued that the farm was more likely to have been abandoned because it was commercially unviable. No construction work had begun and the port authority said it had not been approached by the company. Marine biologist Ian Gleadall, who has studied octopuses for five decades, said commercial farming remained exceptionally difficult. The common octopus spends at least twenty days as free-floating larvae before settling on the seabed, while young animals are highly fragile. Feeding is another obstacle, as octopuses are selective eaters and conventional fish-based feeds may prove prohibitively expensive. Ethical concerns have added to the difficulties. Studies have found compelling evidence of octopus sentience, while their solitary nature makes intensive farming particularly controversial, yet demand remains strong. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that about 370,000 tonnes of octopus are caught annually, with major markets in China, Japan and Spain. Warmer seas are also expanding their range, while their rapid growth and efficient conversion of feed into protein continue to make farming commercially attractive. For now, however, no company has demonstrated that octopus can be farmed successfully at industrial scale. Read more on the Guardian website by clicking here.

Huge marlin caught off coast of US: A marlin weighing 1,260lb (570kg) has been caught off the east coast of the USA. The 11-ft-long fish was caught off the coast of Falmouth, Massachusetts, by Walter Chapmen from the boat Castafari, which was captained by Damon Sacco. The marlin was captured after a three-hour battle, and the Independent reported that the bill of the marlin left holes in the boat’s transom, which Sacco now considers “war marks.” The marlin was retained, and its meat was divided between twelve people, and its head was sent to the University of Maine for analysis. Read more and see pictures of the marlin on the Independent’s website here.

News Archive – 2026
News Archive – 2025
News Archive – 2024
News Archive – 2023
News Archive – 2022
News Archive – 2020
News Archive – 2019
News Archive – 2018
News Archive – 2017
News Archive – 2016
News Archive – 2015
News Archive – 2014

Credit for newspaper image at top of page: Copyright: flynt / 123RF Stock Photo