Scottish ministers urged to end 'pointless' seasonal Clyde fishing closure

Ministers are being urged to end a “pointless” 20-year-old policy of seasonal closures of fishing waters in the Clyde, amid claims that stocks of cod have failed to recover over the past two decades.

Seasonal closures have been imposed every year since 2001, prohibiting fishing in spawning grounds at a key time in their breeding season.

The closure, which typically runs from from mid-February to the end of April, was brought in to help levels of cod recover in the Firth of Clyde.

However a newly published PhD says this has not happened because of year-round fishing by prawn trawlers, which are exempt from the closure.

The paper by Strathclyde University student Ana Adao says “the chances of recovery for the whiting and cod stocks are minimal” as a result.

It adds: “Even though targeted fishing for white fish had effectively ceased by the early 2000s, there are still no signs of stock recovery in the Clyde.”

Scottish ministers are said to have made “substantial changes” to their consultation document on future Clyde closures, with the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust (Sift) saying this included a “wildly inaccurate summary of the science” around management of fish stocks.

Sift has demanded a new approach from the Scottish Government to eliminate cod bycatch from prawn trawling, which sees any cod that are caught discarded by boats.

The trust’s executive director Charles Millar said the research “blows the long-running seasonal closure approach to recovering Clyde cod stocks out of the water”.

He said the policy of seasonal closures is “flawed”, adding: “The evidence clearly points to the fact that Clyde cod stocks will only recover when bycatch of cod and other white fish in prawn trawl nets is halted.

“Until the science is listened to, fishing in the Clyde, now almost entirely dependent upon shellfish, will remain extremely vulnerable to collapse – and this is made worse by the rapid warming of our seas and massive losses of species and habitat diversity.

“Ministers need to come clean about what they are trying to achieve. Either they want the Clyde to remain a shellfish monoculture with no prospect of a recovered white fish fishery, or they must take the necessary action to bring back fish stocks.”

Speaking as a consultation on seasonal closures comes to an end on Thursday, he called on the Government to “think again”.

Mr Millar urged ministers to bring in a fisheries management regime “which recognises that bycatch in prawn trawls is blocking the recovery of fish stocks, and bring an end to its pointless 20-year-old policy of relying on temporary closures in the Firth”.

Bally Philp, co-ordinator for the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation, said the Clyde is “a ghost of its former abundant self” with “its ecology in decline alongside its fleet”.

Calling for for an end to “20 years of failure” of the closure policy, he added: “The Clyde can again be a thriving fishing ground for my fellow creelers, for the trawl sector, and eventually for a cod fleet again as well.

“But that will require bringing in protections and management measures that can really deliver.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “While there were some technical scientific changes made to the consultation paper, these were not substantial, and we do not recognise the characterisation set out.

“We would like to thank all of those who have responded to the consultation so far as it sets out important options for stakeholders to consider.

“The consultation is still live so it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage and we will fully consider all responses received.”