Sandel fishing ban in the North Sea to stay

A challenge to the ban on commercial fishing from Great Britain to Sandeels in the North Sea was rejected before an international court.

Sandeels are a vital source of food for marine life, including sea birds that live along the British coast.

Two bans for English and Scottish waters were set up at the beginning of 2024 to ban trawlers that marked the small fish, following the concerns that Sandeel stocks become too low.

The judges of the permanent court of arbitration (PCA) based on The Hague judged that there is no legal obligation to overthrow the closure order after the EU affirmed that the decision was “discriminatory and disproportionate” and could threaten the future of commercial fishing in Sandel in Denmark.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), which manages the cliffs of Bempton in the East Yorkshire, was one of the many conservation organizations that have asked to stay in place and testify to the court hearing.

Beccy Speight, the director general of the RSPB, said: “We are absolutely delighted that the panel has found that the ecological case for the closure of industrial fishing Sandeel is solid.”

“Sandeel’s background backup is a key element in the jigsaw that will help define our puffs, our kittiwakes and the wider marine environment on the path of recovery.”

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Department (DEFRA) welcomed the court’s decision and said that it had found that “the United Kingdom managed to demonstrate that the measures taken to close English and Scottish waters were based on the best available science.”

Sandeels include a number of small fish species and are commercially captured for use in animal food and oil production.

Danish fishing organizations had argued that the ban on the North Sea was “useless” and said that Sandeel’s stocks were abundant, contesting scientific evidence.

Speaking before the decision of the Esben Sverdrup-Jeansen court, of the Danish Pelagic Producers’ Association, said that the ban had a “massive impact” on the industry.

“This means that we have lost about half of the fishing grounds on which we have traditionally caught for decades,” he said.

Mr. Sverdrup-Jean has challenged the complaint that Sandeel’s actions were threatened.

“Sandeel is probably the best managed fishing in the world,” he added.

The decision means that a Salel fishing ban also remains in place in the Scottish regions of the North Sea and this was greeted by the Scottish government, which has continuous concerns concerning the population of sea birds.

The secretary of Scottish rural affairs, Mairi Gougeon, said: “The protection of our marine ecosystem is vital for the environment of Scotland and for the people and the communities that count on it.

“The decision reaffirms the relevance of the actions we made last year to do exactly that.”

The permanent decision of the Court of Arbitration, which takes place at nearly 300 pages, also indicated that the ban on English waters violated the post-Brexit trade agreement because it was “disproportionate”.

In a statement, the European Commission said it had welcomed the decision because it “learns” fishing rights.

He said: “The United Kingdom must immediately comply with the final decision and inform the EU within 30 days of [compliance] measure he will take “.

A spokesperson for Defra said that he “would bring the United Kingdom to compliance” on this issue, but the decision does not mean that the United Kingdom is legally forced to reverse the closure of English waters.