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The Great UK Fishing Scandal by Big Wave TV in association with Blue Marine Foundation.
LONDON, MARCH 5 – On March 5 the ocean conservation charity Blue Marine Foundation will go to court in London, accompanied by inshore fishermen, to challenge the UK government for setting fishing opportunities higher than scientists advise.
The charity’s leading counsel, David Wolfe KC, will argue that the government’s unsustainable management of fish stocks is an irresponsible use of national assets and against the interests of the majority of fishermen as they will run out of fish to catch.
Blue Marine points to evidence that decades of prioritising short-term commercial considerations over responsible management has led to the depletion of key species such as mackerel, Celtic Sea cod, Channel pollack and Irish Sea Whiting, and says the government is not entitled to override sustainability concerns based on un-evidenced claims that this is balanced decision-making.
The case challenges the December 2023 determination of fishing quotas for the year 2024 by the previous government – it has taken nearly a year to come to court. That decision resulted in quota for 54 per cent of fish stocks being allocated above scientific advice.
The court has already been told in a lengthy correspondence, running to more than 700 pages, that the government’s approach – namely that UK-based fishing boats should be allowed to catch as much as allowed by international negotiations regardless of the consequences – is unlawful because no consideration was given to the objectives of the post-Brexit Fisheries Act 2020 and it lacked the transparency that the law requires.
The argument is likely to focus on whether it was lawful for the Secretary of State for the Environment not to be given or consider any advice on how the levels of quota negotiated internationally fitted with UK law and policy, including being based on appropriate socio-economic considerations and other factors.
Charles Clover, co-founder of Blue Marine, said: “By continuing to allow exploitation above sustainable limits for so many species the government is not only putting fish populations at risk, but everything that relies on them including marine ecosystems and the fishing industry itself.
“I am not sure the public knows that what has been going on is that one stock after another is allowed to be caught above scientific advice year after year to keep the fleet fishing instead of taking appropriate measures to conserve the fish population that is overfished. That is inexorably wiping out wild fish species in our waters. We cannot believe that is consistent with the law.”
Jerry Percy, former director of the New Under Ten Fishermen’s Association, said: “The inshore fleet is finding that there is simply not enough to catch to keep them in business mainly as a result of poor fisheries management decisions by the government.
“DEFRA is already kicking the can down the road in regard to their responsibilities under the post EU Exit Fisheries Act 2020 and they need holding to account.
It is only the likes of Blue Marine that have both the capacity and will to take the government to court and we hope that this will result in decisions being taken on a more rational basis in future.”
Martin Yorwarth, an inshore fisherman said: “This case is the last chance for gaining equality for the inshore fishing fleet. I wish Blue Marine well and hope that there’s a reset if the case is won, with coastal fishing communities getting treated more fairly in the future.”
