Sustainable seafood FAQs

We understand that there are people who do not eat fish and may also advocate for others to join them. We completely respect that decision. No one with an environmentally-aware conscience wants to buy fish that supports fishing practices that damage our marine ecosystems. However, we also understand that many people do want to continue to be able to support sustainable fisheries and seafood.

In the UK, 97% of households regularly eat fish. Rather than campaigning against fishing and engaging in polarising arguments, we think that by highlighting the most sustainable, local options we can ensure that consumers are given the information needed to support good local fishing practices. By highlighting areas where improvement is needed, we can incentivise the government to better manage fishing. Instead of creating a divisive campaign calling on people to stop eating seafood, we call on our supporters to help us to use our collective power to call on industry and our government to manage our oceans properly.

Fishing is part of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight’s economy and culture but, as a wildlife conservation charity, we strive to protect nature and aid its recovery. We believe that the best way we can reduce the impacts of fishing is by educating people - consumers, fishers, chefs and fish sellers - about sustainability, and by continuing to push for better management of our fishing industry to ensure long-term viability and minimal impacts.

All methods of fishing have pros and cons and there can be a big difference in the impact of large-scale industrial fishing (such as offshore pelagic trawling) and the smaller-scale fishing carried out by local fishermen. Local boats use wide range of different methods for catching seafood, and fishermen are constantly trying to improve the way they work to minimise impacts, but there is always an impact of some kind.

We have asked ourselves the following questions as we have developed our Great Solent Seafood Campaign. We hope you find them useful in understanding how we determine sustainability and our approach to promoting and working with local fishermen and fisheries managers.

In general, we want to know three things about our fisheries:

• Are the stocks sustainable?
• Is the fishery managed?
• Do the fishing methods used harm marine habitats and non-target species?

The main body responsible for management of our local inshore fisheries is The Southern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (SIFCA). We work closely with the SIFCA, attending public meetings and as members of their Conservation and Recreational Anglers Groups.

As well as our own work with sustainable local fisheries, we also support the Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide. This rigorous, internationally recognised system uses up to date information from trusted scientific sources to calculate the status of the stock of a fish species, the level of fishing pressure on this stock, how well the fishery is managed, and the wider impacts of the method being used to capture the fish.

A 'stock assessment' is a vital piece of information which allows fisheries managers to assess the likely impact of a fishery on its target species. Knowing the current stock allows fisheries managers to predict the likely breeding success of a species and therefore how many fish can safely be caught. Some stocks are assessed at international level, providing evidence for the total allowable catch (TAC) and how that catch is allocated between nations and fishermen (quotas).

Not all species have stock assessments or have TACs set (so-called non-quota species). But stocks may still be managed through keeping track of landings and, in some cases, local stock assessments are carried out. For example, in the Solent the SIFCA undertakes surveys of local oyster and clam stocks in order to provide evidence to support management of these fisheries.

To manage human take from the wild, we need to know how many fish can be safely taken without depleting stocks, and without otherwise negatively impacting the environment. As scientists and managers have discussed how much fish can be safely taken out of the sea, one concept has become a key tool for fisheries management: maximum sustainable yield (MSY). MSY is the maximum catch that can be extracted from a fish species or other population in the long term. 

In theory, fishing at the MSY allows for stock to be replaced every year, but this has been likened to fishing at the ‘cliff edge’. Fisheries scientists recommend MSY levels for several different species, but this advice is not always adopted by the political decision-makers.

We support efforts to fish at a level which can provide resilience for years where reproduction and recruitment may be low, and at levels which allow stocks to increase. Therefore, we campaign for the scientific advice to be followed, and for fish to be harvested at a level at least no higher than the predicted MSY - preferably below that level to allow stock sizes to increase over time.

The more we know about the species we catch, the more sustainable the fishery will be. Mistakes have been made through overexploiting slow-growing species which are late to mature and are less able to withstand a high level of exploitation. Typically, fisheries management includes a minimum size, above which at least 50% of individuals are likely to have had the opportunity to breed at least once. We are actively involved in trying to make sure that minimum sizes really are high enough and that they are enforced effectively.

Some species fished in the Solent are short-lived, like the cuttlefish, which only lives for two years and dies after breeding. But other species, like sea bass, can take many years growing to adulthood. A number of areas of the Solent, including most of Southampton Water and Portsmouth, Langstone and Chichester Harbours, are all designated as bass nursery areas where juvenile bass spend up to eight years before they join the migratory adult population. An understanding of the breeding age and success of species is important for management, as fish being harvested before they have had a chance to breed has, historically, been one of the main causes of stocks collapsing.

For some species (for example wrasse species which change sex from female to male as they grow) a maximum size is also recommended to prevent fishing activity removing breeding males from the population.

People can help us to support our fisheries by looking at minimum sizes when they buy seafood and rejecting undersized fish. In many cases, these size restrictions apply to anglers and people collecting seafood for their own use as well.

A common fisheries management measure is to set the mesh size of nets so that smaller, immature fish are not caught. Nets can also be designed to be more selective and to allow non-target species to escape. Pots can be designed to capture target species preferentially and include escape hatches to allow non-target or undersized animals to escape.

A good proportion of efficient stock targeting lies in the skill and knowledge of the fishermen themselves, as fishermen generally want to catch the fish that they set out to target. However, some fishermen operate a mixed fishery, catching a range of species at once. In this case, we support efforts to make sure that all species are used, and no fish are taken needlessly.

As well as the type of gear used, fishermen can also use their skill and knowledge to try, as much as possible, to catch just the target species they are fishing for. Unwanted or over-quota fish used to be discarded, but the recent introduction of bans on discarding non-target or undersized fish is designed to drive improvements in selectivity. Of course, we support the return of undersized animals to the water. 

Some fishing methods, particularly seabed trawls and dredges, can cause damage to the seabed as they are dragged over the surface. Some habitats are particularly sensitive to this. In our area, seagrass beds and rock reefs are identified as being particularly at risk and we also have some maerl, which is extremely sensitive. The Southern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (SIFCA) has introduced a byelaw to manage the impact of these fishing methods inside our MPAs (principally inside the European Marine Sites at present).

Other types of seabed habitat may also be sensitive and some sediments have varying levels of ability to recover from trawling and dredging. Generally, the more dynamic, mobile sands and shifting gravels are the most likely to recover quickly, whereas more structured muddy communities may be less resilient. The Bottom-Towed Fishing Gear Byelaw also protects some areas of inter and sub-tidal mud and sandflats across our region.

Some fisheries have a big problem with bycatch of marine mammals or sharks. These generally involve drift and pelagic netting. Seabirds can also be impacted by some hook and line fisheries.

Many of the fishing methods used in the Solent – e.g. potting and dredging - do not cause this type of impact and we do not think that there is a significant problem with this kind of impact, although isolated incidents may still occur.

Many fisheries have a closed season to allow populations of target species to breed and habitats to recover. We support these measures and provide advice on when fish are 'in-season'. Closed seasons also relieve disturbance pressure on other marine species and allow them to breed and recover. In the Solent, there are closed seasons and areas for the oyster and other bivalve fisheries. There are also seasonal restrictions for sea bass.

Good management is vital for achieving sustainability and some of the most notorious cases of overexploitation tell a sad tale of unregulated fisheries that grew too rapidly and crashed before management was introduced.

For many years, the overarching management of our fisheries has come from the Common Fisheries Policy, but, as we leave the EU and become an Independent coastal state, we will need our own fisheries legislation. In the past, we have had exclusive control of our inshore fisheries out to 6 nm, but now we will have more influence over our stocks right out to the limits of our territorial waters (our exclusive economic zone or EEZ). We are also going to see 'permit' systems introduced in the future which have been successful elsewhere in reducing illegal and unregulated fishing.

Fishermen can sometimes be less than enthusiastic about fisheries management, but they all want healthy stocks to support their livelihoods and most accept the need for management, even if they would often like to see it carried out in a different way. It is important that there is dialogue and understanding between fishermen, managers and conservationists as rules and regulations are of little use if the majority of fishermen aren’t prepared to comply with them.

Note: You will sometimes see 'fishers' used as a term to describe people engaged in commercial fishing, perhaps as a gender-neutral option. However, we have been told more than once, by the people doing the fishing, that 'fishermen' is strongly preferred as the appropriate term for both male and female fishermen.

Our fisheries managers have limited resources and have to conduct targeted enforcement, often based on good intelligence and a deep understanding of the local fisheries. There are also technological advances being trialled for the inshore fleet, for example the Inshore Vessel Monitoring System (IVMS), which will increase surveillance and monitoring.

There are signs that magistrates are beginning to take breaches seriously and - although there is a process of verbal warning, official warnings and fixed penalties - cases do go to court. Examples can be found in SIFCA reports and fines can be substantial.

Sewage is a general problem around our coasts but the main risk to humans eating seafood comes from a subset of species, principally bivalve molluscs. This is because bivalves are filter feeders which strain detritus, microalgae and microorganisms from the water and are therefore more likely to bioaccumulate toxins from environmental pollutants. Our waters and shellfish are regularly tested by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), and the safety of commercially harvested shellfish is closely monitored. The shellfish production areas within the Solent are currently classified as Class B and Class C, meaning seafood producers must follow treatment and purification processes to ensure their catch is fit for human consumption. You can read more about these processes here. Although it may not be illegal, there are a number of byelaws and regulations which apply to both commercial and private shellfish fishing, and we strongly discourage people from hand-gathering and consuming wild, raw bivalves directly from the water.