Clyde fishing ban: Are measures aimed at boosting cod stocks too strict or should they be tightened?

The ban was extended in 2022, prohibiting all types of fishing from mid-February until the end of April each season

The Scottish Conservatives are calling for a “heavy-handed” ban on commercial fishing in the Clyde to be scrapped, citing fears it will impact fleets and the future sustainability of the industry.

MSPs at the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee are on Wednesday due to hear evidence regarding the continuation of a special order which outlaws fishing within a designated area of the Clyde during spawning time to allow cod populations to recover.

The ban, first set up in 2002, had traditionally allowed certain fishing vessels – including trawlers, dredgers and creelers targeting catches such as scallops and prawns – to continue operating within the zone, dubbed the Cod Box.

But in 2022 the ban was extended, prohibiting all types of fishing in a slightly smaller area from mid-February until the end of April each season.

Now, as the order is reviewed for 2024-2026, Scottish Conservative MSP Rachael Hamilton is raising a motion to have it annulled.

“The latest plans by the SNP-Green coalition for fishing on the Clyde are ridiculously heavy-handed,” she said.

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MSPs at the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee are due to hear evidence regarding the continuation of a special order which outlaws fishing within a designated area of the Clyde during spawning time to allow cod populations to recover. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

“They threaten the future sustainability of the industry on the Clyde and it appears as though ministers have failed to learn any lessons from their previous mistakes when they curtailed fishing activity.

“The influence of the extremist Greens is clear for all to see among the SNP on fishing issues and it appears those who will be affected have been left in the dark.

“I would urge fellow MSPs on the committee to back my plans to scrap these plans and ensure the future viability of fishing on the Clyde.”

Members of the Clyde Fishermen’s Association (CFA) were instrumental in establishing the initial Clyde Cod Box 20 years ago, but feel the measures are not working in their current form.

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CFA executive secretary Elaine Whyte said: “In fact we feel such closures often cause longer-term concerns for sustainability, such as displacement of local small-scale fishing into concentrated areas outwith restricted areas, and often result in more nomadic and heavier honeypot fishing when the area is opened – which could be counterproductive.”

She stressed that the organisation was open to working with government and academics on “well planned, co-developed science” and remained committed to working through Inshore Fisheries groups “to help develop local sustainable management measures”.

Meanwhile, campaigners insist that bottom-trawling and dredging should continue to be prohibited in the Clyde Cod Box, but less damaging methods could be allowed.

Hayley Wolcott, coordinator for marine environment coalition Our Seas, said: “We urgently need improved management of bottom-trawling and dredging in the Firth of Clyde’s cod spawning habitats and especially so during the spawning season, when the fish aggregate in high densities and become particularly vulnerable to disturbance and capture.

“The already depleted Clyde cod population will have no chance of recovery if trawling and dredging are allowed to circumvent the current restrictions, which have only been in place in the cod spawning area during the spawning season for the last two years.

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“The government now has an opportunity to show its commitment to tailored spatial management by giving access to low-impact fisheries such as creeling and diving, that have no material impacts on cod and are compatible with environmental recovery. “

They are also calling for a wider ban, which would see trawling and dredging banned from inshore waters.

“Sadly it’s not just the Clyde that needs action,” Ms Wolcott said.

“For nearly 100 years bottom-trawling was banned in Scotland’s seas within three miles of the shore.

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“If we wish to see inshore fish populations recover then we need to reinstate this kind of protection.

“The Our Seas coalition is calling for the reinstatement of an inshore limit on bottom-trawling and dredging throughout our coastal seas and more support for low-impact fishing.

“This should be implemented in a fair way that incentivises a transition across the industry.”