Overview
Project UK is working towards an environmentally sustainable future for UK fisheries by running Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) on 12 UK fisheries that have been selected by the UK seafood supply chain. They were selected due to their importance for the UK market.
Project UK has been developed in response to the demand from the supply chain, retailers, industry and NGOs. The project will commission an MSC pre-assessment to inform and develop an action plan for each fishery, which will identify improvements.
King scallops are found on clean firm sand and fine gravel and in currents, which provide good feeding conditions. They occur along the European Atlantic coast from northern Norway, south to the Iberian Peninsula. The bathymetric range of distribution is from the low tide mark to over 100 m, but it is most common in waters of 20-70 m.
No TAC is set in the Channel scallop fishery. Total landed weight of scallops in 2015 by the UK fleet in area VIId and VIIe was 8,976t. Of this 97% was landed by scallop dredge (2% beam trawl and 1% others). Landings from VIId and VIIe were also dominated by English registered vessels (62%) although Scottish registered vessels also landed significant quantities (36%). Finally, of the catches from dredge fisheries almost all (95%) was by vessels over 10m LOA registered length.
Project UK is working towards an environmentally sustainable future for UK fisheries by running Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) on 12 UK fisheries that have been selected by the UK seafood supply chain.
By April 2024, the FIP aims to address the following:
- Meet the 80+ score for each MSC performance indicator and be able to enter MSC full assessment.
- Support fisheries with the tools to implement changes and ensure their sustainable future as they move towards MSC certification
- Follow the step by step definition of a credible FIP involving four key stages, each with associated tools & support mechanisms:
- Undertake MSC pre-assessment
- Develop an action plan for improvement
- Implement actions & track progress
- Enter full MSC assessment
- Address and aim to improve all principle indicators scoring below 80 across the MSC as determined in the pre-assessments
- Use the model to establish a 'FIP conveyor belt' to identify, improve and certify UK fisheries
- Track progress consistently and transparently, producing review reports on an annual basis using a consultant body