nifca news summer 2025
welcome I’m pleased to introduce our Summer 2025 newsletter, offering an update on the Authority’s activities and key national developments in fisheries management, as well as highlighting the local work done in supporting national Fisheries Management Plans through our data collection. This period has once again proven to be both busy and pivotal within the evolving landscape of UK fisheries management. Marine conservation has gained fresh public attention with the release of ‘Ocean’, the new David Attenborough film for World Oceans Day. The documentary celebrates marine biodiversity while highlighting key pressures such as overfishing and bottom trawling, and it emphasises the potential for its recovery through conservation efforts within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Additionally, the UK’s 30x30 biodiversity strategy continues to gather momentum, aiming to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. A Private Members’ Bill now in Parliament seeks to ban bottom trawling in all English MPAs, alongside a government consultation proposing further fishing restrictions across 41 offshore MPAs, potentially covering 30,000 km ² . These developments, combined with accelerating offshore wind deployment, are intensifying the “spatial squeeze” faced by the fishing industry. Within our district, we remain committed to managing bottom towed gear in MPAs to strike a careful balance: supporting a viable and sustainable fishing industry, while meeting our statutory conservation duties.
We hope this edition deepens your understanding of Northumberland IFCA’s work. Follow us on social media for the latest updates on our work.
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