This short briefing provides an overview of the relevance of the Action Plan being developed by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fisheries to the UK’s devolved nations.
Key Points:
The APPG on Fisheries is developing an Action Plan for UK fishing which will cover all sectors and geographies.
Though UK fisheries management is largely devolved, strong interdependencies mean coordination between governments remains essential.
Some key powers sit at UK level, notably trade, international agreements, immigration and wider economic policy, all of which strongly affect fishing.
Moreover, fisheries outcomes are shaped by more than fisheries policy alone – including funding decisions, trade deals, offshore development and access to labour.
There is a strong case for a UK-wide strategy that joins up these different policy areas, and offers a plan for fishing as an economic and food-producing sector.
Rather than encroaching on devolved competencies, this would help set shared strategic goals and direction, and clarify actions at the appropriate level.
Brexit, alongside wider policy changes and ongoing negotiations on trade and fisheries arrangements, has created space to rethink our fisheries strategically.
The APPG is working to develop a practical plan to support this, at the appropriate level, to deliver a sustainable and thriving fishing industry now and into the future.
What is the Action Plan?
In response to industry calls for a strategy for the UK's fishing industry, the APPG on Fisheries is developing an Action Plan for UK fishing. Offering a strategic roadmap in support of the UK's fishing industry, the Action Plan will make the case for a Government-led sector strategy, outline priority areas for action, and set out recommendations to address key challenges facing the industry.
Who is involved?
APPGs are informal cross-party groups within Parliament, run by Members of the House of Commons and Lords. With 27 parliamentary members from across seven parties, the APPG on Fisheries works to support and promote a sustainable and thriving UK fishing industry in Parliament. As part of this work, this Action Plan is being developed under the guidance of Independent Chair and former Fisheries Minister Daniel Zeichner MP, alongside APPG Chairs Melanie Onn MP and Alistair Carmichael MP.
Scope of the Action Plan:
The APPG on Fisheries is explicitly committed to promoting and supporting the UK fishing industry in Parliament. In line with this, the starting point for this inquiry is the catching sector. However, recognising that the business of fishing occurs within a wider context, is deeply interconnected with downstream activities (e.g. seafood processing and markets), and interacts with and is affected by other sectors of the economy, the Action Plan will explicitly consider these wider connections.
As with the work of the APPG more broadly which covers all geographies and sectors, the Action Plan intends to cover UK fishing as a whole in a manner attuned to questions of devolution, and the realities of various regions. To ensure relevance in the context of devolution and attain an aspirational tone, the Action Plan will be reasonably high-level. This does not negate its relevance or value: the APPG’s Expert Panel has indicated strongly that a positive, high-level and holistic vision for fishing is sorely needed, and – as a neutral parliamentary forum – the APPG is well-placed to help construct and share this for discussion and action at the relevant level.
Full Terms of Reference for the Action Plan can be found here.
But fisheries management is a largely devolved matter?
Fisheries management is a largely, though not exclusively, devolved policy area within the UK. Since leaving the EU, the UK and its devolved administrations have gained greater flexibility to tailor fisheries policy to national and regional priorities. This is important given the diversity of UK fisheries – in terms of fleet structures, target species and economic dependencies (both across and within nations) – meaning that a centralised, one-size-fits-all model would be inappropriate.
At the same time, there are strong ecological, economic and institutional interdependencies in relation to stocks, fleets, supply chains, labour markets, and international commitments. This means that divergence between devolved approaches carries real risks for sustainability, regulatory coherence and market functioning. As a consequence, intergovernmental coordination remains important.
How this manifests practically is that rather than wholly devolved, the UK’s fisheries governance landscape remains mixed – with some key aspects, particularly relating to management (e.g. day to day management, licensing, inshore regulation) are devolved while other key structural aspects are determined by the UK Government. Under this system key strategic levers remain reserved, including international fisheries agreements, trade policy, and wider macroeconomic and migration decisions that affect the sector operationally.
In terms of policy, the Fisheries Act 2020 and the Joint Fisheries Statement provide an overarching framework intended to align these different levels of governance, alongside devolved strategies such as Scotland’s Future Fisheries Management Strategy and Wales’ Strategic Approach for Fisheries and Aquaculture. Fisheries Management Plans represent an important further step in operationalising this framework.
So why do we need an Action Plan?
The reality is that fisheries outcomes are determined by more than fisheries policy alone. Decisions on trade, Treasury funding (including the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund), offshore development, and immigration policy (which are made from Westminster) all significantly shape the viability and structure of the UK fishing industry and its related sectors. These cross-cutting dependencies underline that fisheries is not solely an environmental management issue, but also a social, economic and regional development issue.
Against this backdrop, there is a strong case for a more coherent UK-wide strategic framework for the UK’s fishing industry as an economic food producing sector. This would not replace devolved management or centralise operational control, but would complement existing arrangements by providing shared long-term objectives across sustainability, economic development, resilience, and international relations. In effect, it would extend the intent of the Joint Fisheries Statement into the wider policy domains that shape sectoral outcomes.
This matters because the UK’s fishing industry sits at the intersection of environmental sustainability, food security, coastal economic resilience and global trade. A more integrated strategic approach could help align these objectives, supporting a viable and adaptable industry that delivers environmental and socio-economic benefits. While post-Brexit change has not delivered the immediate gains some anticipated, it has created a policy environment in which long-term strategic choices remain open. This presents an opportunity to move beyond fragmented governance towards a more coherent and forward-looking framework. It is on this basis that the APPG is developing an Action Plan.
What will the Action Plan look like?
Our work on the APPG on Fisheries has highlighted that across the UK’s fishing industry there are fundamental shared priorities that require coordinated action. Our framework will set these out, alongside strategic measures that could be implemented towards securing the long-term future of a diverse, profitable UK fishing fleet and the health of marine ecosystems, with wider benefits for coastal economies and food security.
In doing so, our aim is to offer a high-level framework for UK fishing that moves beyond fishing as a problem, and instead supports a forward-looking industry that is geographically diverse, provides good jobs, sustains resilient communities and thriving regional economies, delivers climate-smart nutritious seafood, and strengthens national food security and public health, while safeguarding fish stocks and healthy marine ecosystems.