The UK government’s decision to set catch limits for fish populations above those recommended by scientific advice is to be challenged in the courts by marine conservationists who accuse ministers of breaking their own post-Brexit rules.
The legal challenge, expected to start in January, will argue that the government is “illegally squandering” a public asset and going against laws aimed at improving sustainable fishing.
Every year, the UK, the EU and Norway negotiate catch limits for shared commercial fish species for the following year; they are advised by an independent scientific body as to what level is sustainable. This month, for the third year in a row, ministers agreed to set at least half of the catch limits for shared stocks above scientific advice. This means a green light for overfishing, according to the Blue Marine Foundation.
The deal for 2024, agreed by the UK, the EU and Norway, will result in 750,000 tonnes of fishing opportunities, worth £970m for the UK fleet.
Mark Spencer, the fisheries minister, said scientific advice had informed deals setting 70 catch limits for fish stocks in the North Sea and north-east Atlantic, in support of a “sustainable” and profitable fishing sector. But conservation and environmental law NGOs have criticised ministers from all the nations involved, warning many severely depleted fish populations remain at “grave risk”.
Charles Clover, co-founder of Blue Marine, said: “How long is the British public, the fishing industry or the Treasury meant to tolerate Defra ministers routinely, blithely and disingenuously breaking their own post-Brexit laws? Who is going to challenge them? Someone should and we are prepared to do so in the national interest.”
Blue Marine has written to ministers saying it will be seeking leave for judicial review of its determination of fishing opportunities for 2024, if these are in line with the government announcement on 8 December 2023.
When the government introduced the Fisheries Act, the first domestic fisheries legislation in four decades, it said it would create a “world class” management regime drawing on “best available science” to ensure fish populations are healthy and sustainable.
The reality is different, say conservationists. In the first year post Brexit, more than 65% of catch limits were in excess of independent scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices). In the second year, they were 57% above.
This year a “provisional estimate” by Defra has found the same number of jointly managed stocks has been set in line with or lower than scientific advice as last year – the third since the new regime came into place. Among the allocations were opportunities on stocks that scientists do not think should be fished at all, including two new at-risk species, Channel and Celtic Seas pollack and Irish sea sole.
Last year the charity ClientEarth took EU ministers to court over the 2022 catch limits in the north-east Atlantic for shared fish populations between the EU and the UK as well as stocks in EU waters. The case is still pending.
A Defra spokesperson said: “Sustainability has been at the heart of the UK’s approach to support the viability of the UK fishing industry and catch limits have been set in line with obligations under the Fisheries Act 2020 and the Joint Fisheries Statement.
“During these negotiations we pushed for decisions to be based on the best available science to protect key stocks using evidence from Ices as the starting point.”
A European Commission spokesperson said it was important to reach “balanced and responsible” agreement and that scientific advice had been taken into account, alongside socioeconomic and other evidence, to justify catch levels “strictly limited to cover the needs of fisheries to continue operating at all”.
