Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) is the most important demersal fish species to Scottish Fishermen. There are three stocks of haddock, North Sea, West coast and Rockall which contribute to Scottish landings. In 2008 approximately 29,500 tonnes of haddock were landed into Scotland, worth £32.7 million. Haddock accounts for around 35% of all demersal whitefish landings into Scotland.

The North Sea fishery is by far the most significant; around 90% of haddock is landed into North Sea ports. A variety of types of trawl nets and seine nets are used to catch haddock. Its commercial significance is well recognised and the Scottish industry is currently taking North Sea haddock through Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) assessment against its standard for environmental and sustainable

The species is widely distributed in the waters around Scotland at depths usually less than 200m, although Rockall haddock can be found down to depths of 600m. Fish mature between 2 and 3 years old and spawn from February to May, each releasing several hundred thousand eggs. Larvae do not generally drift far from the spawning grounds although some west coast larvae are carried to the North Sea and this suggests there may be links between these two populations.

Rockall haddock are believed to be a separate stock from those found on the continental shelf, with no mixing of populations due to the northward flowing surface current between Rockall and the Hebrides acting as a barrier. Young haddock spend some time near the surface before becoming demersal in habit. Survival rate is very variable and recruitment is characterised by occasional pulses of very large numbers of young. Diet varies depending on local availability of food types and size of haddock. A wide variety of bottom living animals are important food items and as haddock grow, fish become more important.

 

The assessments carried out by ICES in 2009, showed the North Sea and Rockall stocks as having full reproductive capacity and being harvested sustainably, and the west of Scotland Stock as being at risk of reduced reproductive capacity and of being harvested sustainably.

Spawning stock biomass for North Sea haddock in 2009 was estimated to be above Bpa, although it has been declining since 2002. Fishing mortality in 2008 was estimated to be below Fpa, and below the target F specified in the EU-Norway management plan (F = 0.3).

The west of Scotland Spawning stock biomass has been estimated as being below Bpa, with the fishing mortality being above Fpa in most years since 1987 but just below Fpa in 2008.
The spawning stock biomass for the Rockall stock has been above Bpa since 2003, with fishing mortality being above Fpa throughout most of the time-series, but below Fpa since 2005.

The influence on the North Sea and west of Scotland stocks by the very strong 1999 year class is diminishing. The 2005 year class is estimated to be above average for the North Sea stock with recent recruitment being poor. Recruitment from 2003 to 2007 in the West of Scotland stock has been weak.
The spawning stock biomass of the Rockall stock has increased in recent years as a result of the 2001 and 2005 year classes, although recent recruitment is estimated to be low.

 

In 1999 the EU and Norway agreed to implement a long-term management plan for the [North Sea] haddock stock, which is consistent with the precautionary approach and which is intended to constrain harvesting within safe biological limits (SSB > Blim) and is designed to provide for sustainable fisheries and high potential yield. A revised management plan was implemented in January 2009. The main elements of the plan are a target F of 0.3 with a limit of 15% change in TAC provided SSB is maintained above 140,000 tonnes. If SSB is between 140,000 tonnes and 100,000 tonnes, F is reduced in line with SSB to reach F = 0.1 at SSB = 100,000 tonnes. If SSB is at 100,000 tonnes or below, F is 0.1. Interannual quota flexibility is permitted, with a maximum of 10% transfer of quota between years.

ICES has evaluated this EU–Norway management plan and concluded that the target FHCR = 0.3 with TAC constraint ±15% leads on average to a <5% risk of B < Blim within the next 20 years. Increasing the target FHCR increases the risk. Although the management plan has not been fully tested (e.g. at lower fishing mortalities), ICES concludes that the management plan can provisionally be accepted as precautionary and be used as the basis for advice. Interannual quota flexibility has also been evaluated and it is concluded that this has no significant impact on sustainability.

ICES advises that the exploitation of North Sea and IIIa haddock be based on the agreed management plan. This would imply landings of 38,000 tonnes in 2010, which would lead to an SSB of 185,000 tonnes in 2011. The ±15% constraint on interannual TAC variability has been invoked in this case, decreasing the proposed 2010 landings compared to the 2009 quota.

Discards of haddock in 2006 and 2007 were fairly substantial due to the moderately sized 2005 year class entering the fishery, but were considerably lower in 2008, possibly due to the growth of the 2005 year class past the minimum landing size. Further improvements to gear selectivity would reduce the amount discarded by allowing the release of undersized fish. This would not only be beneficial for haddock stocks, but also juveniles of other species that occur in mixed fisheries where haddock are caught.
Due to the 2006 – 2008 year classes being weak, even at the current low level of fishing mortality the spawning stock biomass is likely to continue to decline from 2010 onwards unless a moderate to strong year class appears. Early indications from surveys suggest that the 2009 year-class will be rather better, although it is too early to determine the extent to which this will contribute to the fishable stock.

ICES have recommended the development of a management plan, which would offer maximum protection to the [west of Scotland] haddock, while recognizing that it is caught in a mixed fishery. Special attention needs to be given to the sporadic nature of the haddock recruitment and how to manage periods of low recruitment interspersed with large, occasional pulses. In recent years around 50% of the total catch in weight has been discarded, so restricting landings alone may not achieve the necessary increase in SSB. Mainly 1- to 4-year-old haddock are discarded.

With recent recruitments since 2004 being relatively poor, ICES advised a complete closure of the haddock fishery in 2010. Doing so would bring SSB very close to Bpa in 2011.
Last year's assessment indicated that SSB would continue to decline as the 1999 year class moves out of the population and recent recruitment continues to be poor; the current assessment is consistent with this.

At present there are no management objectives in place for the Rockall stock. Yet there is a need for an internationally agreed plan. Such a plan should involve extensive collaboration between stakeholders, scientists, and management authorities in both the design and the monitoring of conservation measures.

Fishing mortality around F0.1 (0.18) can be considered as a candidate target reference point consistent with taking high long-term yields and achieving a low risk of depleting the productive potential (< 5%). The present fishing mortality (0.23) is above the candidate reference point, but below Fpa.
Even though SSB is expected to remain above Bpa in the short term, the recruitment for the last three years has been low. Providing advice on the basis of precautionary reference points and increasing fishing mortality to Fpa in 2010 would result in a 28% reduction in SSB by 2011.

ICES advises that there is little gain on the long term yield by increasing fishing mortality above current levels. For 2010, ICES recommends limiting catches to 4,280 tonnes, of which 3,330 tonnes are landings.
The TAC only applies to catches in the EU zone. It should apply to all areas and countries having fisheries for this stock. Since 1999 part of Division VIb has been in international waters where non-EU vessels are not subject to TAC. This allows for an unregulated fishery in the Rockall area. In addition, misreporting and discarding can lead to removals that exceed the TAC.
In comparison with previous assessment and advice, the overall trends are similar to those obtained last year. Estimates of fishing mortality have been revised upwards by 7%, and SSB has been revised downwards by 9% for the last year.
The basis for the advice is the same as last year.

These figures are provisional	EU TAC	UK Share
North Sea	26,965	22,698
West Coast	2,673	2,053

Scotland conducted the evaluation of the harvest rule underpinning the management agreement in the North Sea and subsequent analyses investigating the risk implications of inter annual quota flexibility. The successful maintenance of a relatively low F in line with the plan allowed the very abundant 1999 year class of haddock to contribute to the fishery over a number of years. This bridged the gap to the next above average year class in 2005 which has subsequently been maintained until the appearance of the above average 2009 year class. The EU-Norway haddock management plan is due to be reviewed during 2010, and Scottish scientists will be leading this process. As part of a continuing drive to develop scientific methods, a Scottish industry/science partnership project is comparing the performance of survey trawls with commercial gears. Other projects related to fishing gear will continue to tackle the problem of reducing unwanted bycatch in fisheries for haddock.

Using data collected from the Scottish Rockall haddock surveys, Marine Scotland - Science is researching into the effectiveness of the Rockall Haddock Box closed area. Analysis of the data is still in progress.