There are a lot of groups out there with strong and sometimes mutually exclusive views about what should be happening in the fisheries world.

When Pisces-RFR consider sourcing from a UK fishery, our starting point is that it should be consistent with the UN FAO’s Code of Conduct Technical Guidelines (the global standards) on assessing the condition of fish stocks, and the FAO’s information on the selectivity and wider environmental impact of different fishing gears. We then look at how this may be modified by regional conditions, taking account of scientific assessments of stocks by ICES and CEFAS, as well as assessments of bodies such as the Marine Stewardship Council, the Marine Conservation Society’s Fish Online and, in future, the work of Seafood Choices Alliance. We also talk to organisations representing a wide range of interests, from fishermen, to recreational sea anglers, to environmental groups. These don’t produce fisheries assessments but nevertheless have a view about fisheries issues. The same applies to various statutory bodies such as Natural England and the Environment Agency.

We can’t assume that regional fisheries assessments are applicable to a local inshore fishery (for better or worse), but on this final step the company, and information, thins out dramatically. Indeed, there may not even be a regional or local assessment, the monitoring may be less detailed and rules of thumb or ‘experience’ may apply. This is not necessarily bad, but is a concern. The fisheries officers of the Sea Fisheries Committees are an invaluable source of background information, as are locally based members of the various interest groups and statutory bodies already mentioned.

(see also Different Scores, Low Scores)