Report | July 1, 2020
Recovering North Sea Fish Stocks through Marine Habitat Protection
The North Sea is one of the most heavily impacted water bodies in the world. Centuries of human activities have placed its marine ecosystems under heavy pressure, resulting in extensive and significant changes in ecosystem structure and function. Intensive fishing activity – particularly bottom-trawling – has driven the near disappearance of certain species and habitats, and pushed some commercial stocks to the brink of collapse. Despite these impacts, the North Sea is still the most productive sea in Europe, with current commercial catches of approximately two million tons per year. Improvements in fisheries control and management in recent years have allowed some stocks to rebuild, but biomass remains far below potential levels. Modelling estimates suggest that, if managed properly, North Sea fish stocks could recover to much higher levels of abundance and provide catches 70% greater than at present. One clear means of rebuil