The UK’s seafood sector is an important part of the economy of coastal communities and has a rich cultural heritage from which many of those communities draw a sense of place and identity. The UK’s relationship with the sea is rightly celebrated. All along the coast, from the largest port to the smallest quayside, fishers, fishing communities and the aquaculture1 sector take pride in delivering high-quality, sustainable produce, which contributes to food security. In addition, the UK is recognised for its investment in fisheries science, not just in assessing the health of fish stocks and ecosystems, but also in developing and adapting its fishing methods and using new technologies - something more important than ever given the need to address the challenges of climate change.
In this time of change, the UK will continue to value the importance of fishing to its many coastal communities, including for recreational uses, and will deliver a prosperous fishing industry for future generations while safeguarding, restoring and enhancing the marine environment on which the industry and wider society depends.
Our fisheries face a range of challenges and opportunities on which all four UK Administrations will need to work together. Continuing to rebuild fish stocks, reducing the environmental effects of fishing, as well as minimising the adverse effects on, and supporting adaptation to, climate change, will be vital to ensuring a vibrant seafood sector which is fit for the future. Promoting the consumption of locally sourced seafood as a healthy, high-protein source and supporting prosperous and resilient UK and international markets is a key part of ensuring food security. Delivering sustainable fisheries and aquaculture is essential to achieving the UK’s vision for ‘clean, healthy, safe, productive, and biologically diverse oceans and seas’.
Sea fish are a public resource and, having left the European Union (EU), the UK Administrations have a responsibility to manage their fisheries so as to ensure their sustainable stewardship in a way that recognises the specific needs of our diverse seafood industry and marine environment.
The Fisheries Act 2020 (the Act) sets out eight fisheries objectives that provide the basis against which the fisheries policy authorities (the Secretary of State, Scottish Ministers, Welsh Ministers and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland) will manage their fisheries. This JFS sets out the policies agreed jointly between the fisheries policy authorities on sea fisheries (catching and processing), recreational sea fishing, and aquaculture management for achieving, or contributing to the achievement of, the fisheries objectives. These policies, together with the fisheries objectives, will be reflected by fisheries policy authorities in their own policy development. Individual fisheries policy authorities may also have existing devolved strategies and policy documents, which already reflect policies within the JFS, and therefore the fisheries objectives.
2 UK Marine Policy Statement
The fisheries policy authorities have jointly prepared and published this JFS for the purposes of the Act. As national fisheries authorities, they, and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), are obliged to exercise their functions in accordance with the policies in the JFS and applicable FMPs, in line with section 10 of the Act. Importance of fishing to all nations in the UK
The fishing and aquaculture sectors in the UK support a diverse supply chain which includes catching, processing of fish, transportation, loading and unloading of fish or fish products.
In the catching industry, commercial fisheries across the UK range from large pelagic vessels which can catch hundreds of tonnes of fish in a single haul, to small inshore fishing vessels and intertidal hand gatherers of shellfish. The approach to management and specific management measures can vary across the UK and in inshore and offshore waters. Fleet composition varies considerably between each nation, and fishing plays an important role in sustaining some vulnerable coastal communities and their ports and harbours.
Recreational sea fishing is also a popular form of fishing in the UK and, like commercial fishing, provides important economic and social benefits.
As one of the UK’s strategic food production sectors, aquaculture helps to underpin sustainable economic growth, both in rural and coastal communities and in the wider economy. Aquaculture policy is fully devolved within the UK, and, as such, each of the fisheries policy authorities operates under devolved legislation and policies. The seafood processing and export sector is a locally significant employer in the UK. It consists of primary processing (like filleting and freezing) and secondary processing (like portioning, packing, smoking and breading), as well as facilities for exporting unprocessed fish. Seafood processing sites are situated across the UK, ranging from small sites to larger processing businesses with multiple sites, often clustered in key regional hubs. The sector’s output is for both domestic and international markets, varying around the UK. In some parts of the UK fish are also exported as live, unprocessed goods, predominantly to the EU market. Seafood imports, alongside domestically fished species, are also important for the fish processing sector and support economic output.
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