Background
The Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) was published on 23 November 2022. It sets the direction of UK fisheries management following Brexit, outlining how the fisheries policy authorities of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland will meet the eight objectives of the Fisheries Act 2020 to achieve environmental and economic sustainability. This digest focuses on how the final version of the JFS differs from the consultation draft published earlier in 2022. You can also refer to our previous related digests:
Key changes
The JFS’ 17 policy approaches; for more information on the purpose of the JFS and its policy approaches, see our earlier brief.
Greater acknowledgement of the issue of spatial competition
In the policy approach to Displacement, more detail has been provided on how the fisheries policy authorities may work with fishers and other sea users to address displacement. Suggested actions are:
Improving the understanding of where fishing is taking place and which fishing grounds are most crucial to fisheries.
Better consideration of sustainable fishing activities in marine spatial planning.
Facilitating colocation of fishing and other human activities at sea.
Where impacts cannot be avoided, supporting the fishing industry to adapt.
Similarly, the policy approach to Marine Spatial Planning commits the fisheries policy authorities to exploring how marine spatial planning and fisheries management plans can be better linked.
An added policy approach: Fisheries monitoring and enforcement
The policy approach Fisheries monitoring and enforcement has been added with the aim of providing confidence in compliance and in data collection. This applies to all seafood taken from UK waters, and to all UK vessels whether fishing in UK waters or beyond. The policy approach also stipulates that the use of new monitoring or surveillance regimes ‘will be proportionate and based on the best available evidence’. Earlier, in 3.2.11, the JFS notes that the fisheries policy authorities may choose to explore the use of Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM).
Fisheries Management Plans
A number of changes have been made to the process of developing Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs), which will represent the key mechanism through which the JFS will be implemented. Foremost is making more explicit the importance of embedding ‘principles of sustainability’ and applying an ecosystem-based approach. Examples include:
Determining the stocks included in FMPs (5.3) - Additional criteria can be used to determine whether a particular stock should be included in an FMP, namely the significance of a stock to its ecosystem (e.g. through interactions with protected species), and wider fisheries management factors including environmental, social and economic ones.
Assessing Sustainable Fisheries (5.6) - this section has been expanded and now references the potential role of FMPs in achieving UK Marine Strategy targets for Good Environmental Status.
As noted in the Summary of government response, these changes are reflective of revisions across the JFS which more strongly emphasise the links between a thriving marine environment and a thriving fishing industry; for example, 4.1.5 and 4.1.6 note the role of fisheries management in helping to meet UK Marine Strategy targets on reaching MSY for fish stocks and Good Environmental Status targets for seabed habitats.
More detail has been provided on FMP consultation processes. Where the draft JFS simply stated that FMPs ‘will be subject to public consultation’, it now specifies that the national fisheries authorities will aim consultation at ‘stakeholders with an interest in the target stock(s)’. Stakeholders will also be involved in considering different approaches to developing FMPs and in their monitoring and evaluation. Efforts will be made to enhance the capacity of stakeholders to participate in co-management once FMPs are in place.
Finally, there is no longer an explicit requirement for the fisheries policy authorities to jointly develop regional FMPs where deemed appropriate. Nonetheless, a number of joint FMPs are currently in development, as per the published list of FMPs.
Other notable changes
Decarbonising the UK seafood industry - more specific detail has been added in the form of ‘innovation and adoption of alternative technologies and fishing methods’. (2.1.25)
Policy approach for Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing - the JFS has expanded its expectations for how the fisheries policy authorities will enforce their respective IUU regulations, for example ensuring traceability of seafood. It also commits them to supporting UK exporters to meet IUU fishing requirements in other countries. (4.2.7)
Policy approach for Marine Protected Areas - Sites designated as Marine Protected Areas must be monitored to assess their state, and compliance with any management measures must be enforced. (4.2.11)
Policy approach for Production, Marketing and Consumption of Seafood - There is now an explicit recognition that the seafood sector is a vital source of jobs and cultural heritage to parts of the UK, particularly coastal communities, and that it contributes to national food security (4.2.17.1). The fisheries policy authorities have committed to continuing to facilitate seafood imports, given the importance of these to the processing sector (4.2.17.7), while also working with industry where possible to help promote locally caught, sustainable seafood (4.2.17.8).
What happens now that the JFS has been published?
The fisheries policy authorities are now focusing on developing FMPs for a range of stocks, including 21 joint FMPs for key northern finfish stocks. Defra has released a publication schedule for all FMPs that are currently planned.
On a three-yearly cycle, the fisheries policy authorities will jointly report on progress in implementing the policies in the JFS and the extent to which these policies have contributed to the achievement of objectives in the Fisheries Act. The JFS must be reviewed no later than every six years, or earlier if the fisheries policy authorities determine that this is needed.
The effectiveness of the FMPs will be regularly assessed, focusing on their effectiveness in achieving sustainable stock levels. Results will be included in the three-yearly JFS report. Each FMP will be reviewed at least once every six years, or sooner if required as a result of new evidence, international obligations, or wider events. A Defra spokesperson recently stated that FMPs will be reviewed more regularly in the short term, with the first review of progress for the JFS - which will include existing FMPs – to be published in 2025. The need for additional FMPs will be considered on an ongoing basis.