Half the UK’s fish stocks are overfished – but the evidence shows how they can be revived

North-east Atlantic mackerel are being fished beyond sustainable limits. shocky/Shutterstock

Most of the UK’s commercial fish stocks are not in a healthy state, according to a new landmark report.

Marine conservation charity Oceana UK’s Deep Decline report – one of the most comprehensive analyses of fish stocks since Brexit – finds that half of the UK’s top ten commercial fish stocks are either critically low, overexploited, or both. These include icons of our seas such as North Sea cod, North Sea herring and north-east Atlantic mackerel.