Cornish skippers speak out as 'declining' mackerel added to amber list

  • Watch Grace Pascoe's report

Cornish skippers have called on the government to 'do something' about the declining population of mackerel fish.

Fishermen at Newlyn Harbour have called for "more limits" on foreign trawlers accessing British waters, following an announcement by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) on Wednesday 5 April that mackerel has been added to their amber list.

Mackerel populations have "steadily declined" over the years, as a result of overfishing.

The society rates seafood using a traffic light system, with green representing the "best choice" and most sustainable options, amber for "ok" choices - with improvements needed - and red for unsustainable "fish to avoid".

Although mackerel has been on the green list since 2011, fishing by Norwegian, Icelandic, British and European trawlers has pushed the northeast Atlantic population into decline.

This includes mackerel brought into Cornish ports. However, most of the mackerel landed there is from sustainable hand lines and remains green-rated by the MCS.

Most of the mackerel landed in Cornish ports are caught by hand-lines Credit: Mikaela Toczek/MCS

The MCS said 'better management' is needed to rebuild and maintain the stock.

Fisheries minister Mark Spencer has said that a new fisheries deal negotiation in 2026 will be very important.

On a trip to Newlyn Harbour on Wednesday 5 April, he said: "We've got to balance this with access to the market. We're in a much better place & there will be greater opportunities for our Brexit freedoms."

On that same day, David White, skipper of the Jacquie A at Newlyn Harbour, told ITV's Grace Pascoe: "The government needs to do something about it, we want our limits back, we want our fish back."

Skipper Aaron Brown, added: "The one thing we have gained is the ability to legislate in our waters.

"I would really like to see the government toughen up on flagships.

"We should have a strong economic link to ensure foreign boats who fish here land here".

Charlotte Coombes, Good Fish Guide manager at the Marine Conservation Society, said: “The northeast Atlantic mackerel population has been declining since 2015, which is concerning.

"Fishing communities and wildlife depend on this species, but continued overfishing is putting both at risk.

“International cooperation is the only way to fix this problem, and UK governments must lead by example.

"We need to see countries agree on quotas, and extra management measures being put in place to protect stocks."

Meanwhile, Cornish seafood supplier Falfish has just been allocated 3.2 million pounds of government funding.

Chris Ranford, chief executive at the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation said: "Some positive investment with processing at Fal Fish, training centre benefitted but some frustrations, boats that we're surrounded by, minimal investment there, we'd like more into people going to sea."