Local solutions for inshore fisheries management

The Scottish Government’s upcoming Call for Evidence on Inshore Fisheries Management presents a crucial opportunity to address long-standing challenges in Scotland’s inshore waters. Members of the Our Seas Coalition, an alliance of over 140 coastal businesses, recreational interests, community groups and environmental organisations, are urging the Government to create a system that balances economic resilience, local decision-making, and environmental stewardship. The Our Seas coalition, whose membership includes the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation, small fishing businesses and sea angling bodies, are united in support for the reinstatement of a modern version of the limit on inshore bottom-trawling that used to safeguard inshore fisheries and fish stocks up until 1984. Members of the coalition  see this consultation as a chance to shape a future where thriving inshore fisheries benefit coastal communities, marine biodiversity, and future generations alike.

This call for evidence is an opportunity to finally resolve  major long-standing issues within our inshore fisheries. Local management is still not working. For years we have had conclusive evidence of where herring are coming to spawn beyond the mouth of Loch Gairloch, and yet this area of seabed is still open to scallop dredging, except for a short voluntary closure for 11 weeks of the year. That makes absolutely no sense and is proof of how slow and dysfunctional the system is. The Scottish Government needs to urgently progress its review of the Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups. We are a member of this coalition because it calls for preferential access for low impact fishing methods in the inshore zone. Any good fisheries management system should deliver that. Good science and effective monitoring are important, but it needs better governance. I am a creel fisherman, and have previously worked on trawlers, fishing sandeel, herring white fish, and prawns, so I like to think I can see it from all sides. We do not have management mechanisms in place to fairly arbitrate these interests. The creel sector definitely needs more support and a proper system to make better decisions for our fishery. My advice to Marine Scotland is look at successful models that have been shown to protect and nurture our seas back to the way they should be. How have they achieved what they have?  We don’t need to reinvent the wheel.  In England, they have Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authorities. They aren’t perfect, but they can make laws at a local level and seem to be much more responsive to the needs of local fishing interests, stock management and environmental protection. They also have input and support from a bigger range of stakeholders, including local authorities. Like most fishermen, I want to leave the sea in better condition for future generations, but Government are going to have to invest time and resources to resolve the state of our inshore fisheries.

Ian McWhinney

Shellfish Safaris & Chair of Gairloch Creel Fishermen’s Association
Other countries recognise the economic and social benefits of sea angling and provide much more strategic support for the sector than happens here in Scotland. Surveys have estimated there to be well over 100,000 sea anglers in Scotland, but there is potential for that to be even greater. The Clyde used to sustain a huge amount of recreational sea angling, with many dozens of boat charters along with all the fishing tackle shops and chandleries that supported them. All that activity could be generating income and providing more jobs within our coastal towns and villages, and keeping people connected to the sea. As sea anglers we have a stake in how our inshore fisheries are managed, but Scotland’s Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups are currently solely focussed on commercial fishing interests. This needs to change. We need to stop the damaging pattern of inshore trawling and the well documented impacts of bycatch on fish stocks and other species. Only with this being done will recovery of the once rich biodiversity and fish populations of our inshore seas be possible.

Willie Kennedy

Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network & Scottish Federation of Sea Anglers
We need to make fishing more appealing and obtainable for our future generations. Fishing has supported our communities massively, and we need to maintain that. But the current management is sadly a mess, lacking the cajones to make the bigger decisions required to turn things around. Prime example being, we had a huge amount of support locally to trial a year-round closure in the Inner Sound, but this was stymied by a lack of 100% consensus. We need our managing bodies to start thinking more towards a future for our industry, less on maximising short-term profit and covering up damaging decisions made previously. Success should be measured by maintaining a steady, healthy ecosystem that can carry on providing for our communities. It’s the least we can do. I do support re-installing an inshore limit on dredge and trawl, but it needs to be done in the right way. All sectors need changes. The government needs to step up and make these changes happen. It’s not up to us.

Haydn MacKenzie

creel fisherman, member of Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation

The Call for Evidence on the state of Scotland’s inshore fisheries management is open until 18 Feb 2025. Have your say here.

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