The Fisheries All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in the United Kingdom is working to develop a National Fisheries Action Plan for the country as a means of creating a roadmap for the country’s fishing and seafood sectors.
An APPG is a cross-party group of members of the U.K. parliament that works on issues relevant to the country. The Fisheries APPG recently appointed former U.K. Fisheries Minister and former Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs Daniel Zeichner to lead the development of the new action plan, which the group said is intended to address challenges the U.K. seafood sector faces.
“Fishing and seafood is a sector which is vital around our coasts and has much to offer our communities. Over the past twelve months, however, the APPG on Fisheries has heard of a range of challenges threatening fishing’s viability,” APPG Chair Melanie Onn said. “The common thread across each is the gap left by the absence of a holistic strategy for the industry.”
The Fisheries APPG said that the U.K. has made progress on developing plans to manage U.K. fisheries, but a plan for tackling it in a more broad sense as an economic and food production sector is still nonexistent “despite calls from experts and in contrast with other economic sectors.”
“Vital to many coastal and regional economies, and producing low carbon, nutritious food and a highly valuable commodity, the sector also has much to offer in terms of meeting climate change and biodiversity targets, and contributing to the nation’s food security,” the APPG said.
Zeichner said that in his roles in the U.K. government he’s personally seen the challenges the sector is facing up and down the coast, and as the Fisheries ADDP develops its plan it will consult with fishermen and women, processing facilities, retailers, and more to address the issues they are having.
Scottish Fishermen’s Federation Chief Executive Elspeth Macdonald said the new effort is coming at a critical time for the U.K.’s seafood industry.
“The rich waters around our coasts and islands are the envy of many, but without support and a strategic direction for the sector across each of the U.K.’s nations, we will fail to deliver long term benefits for food security, public health and the economy,” she said.
Macdonald and the federation have been vocal about the spatial squeeze that has been threatening U.K. and Scottish fisheries as other businesses like the oil and gas industries and the wind energy industry begin using areas of the ocean.
The new Fisheries APPG will be supported by the Fishmongers’ Company’s Fisheries Charitable Trust. The APPG said they are aiming to publish a new National Fisheries Action Plan by summer 2026.
“We have been calling for a national strategy for fishing for quite some time. In the last twelve months, that need has become even more pressing,” National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations Chief Executive Mike Cohen said. “We need a plan that recognizes the value of our sector as a food producing economic industry; safeguards our space at sea; protects our grounds; promotes sustainability; supports livelihoods; champions our sector; and allows us to deliver our full national benefit.”
