Mackerel

Northeast Atlantic mackerel are below safe biological levels and there is no precautionary recovery plan in place. Therefore, it receives a critical fail for stock status and is a default red rating.

Stock assessments are carried out annually by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The most recent assessment was published in 2025 using data up to the same year. The next assessment is expected in 2026.

The stock assessment defines reference points for fishing pressure (F) and biomass (B). For fishing pressure, there is a target to keep F at or below Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). For biomass, there is no target. However, there is a trigger point (MSY BTrigger). Below this level, F should be reduced to allow the stock to increase. Because BMSY is not defined, the Good Fish Guide applies its own definition of 1.4 x MSY BTrigger.

A benchmark assessment was held in 2025 and reference point values for the mackerel stock were adjusted.

Mackerel has been fished for centuries in the northeast Atlantic. Catches averaged 680,000 tonnes in the 1980s and 1990s, although they are thought to be under-reported during this time. Catches peaked at 1.4 million tonnes in 2014, and the recent average is around 1 million tonnes.

Spawning-stock biomass (SSB) was close to its lowest safe biological limits (Blim: 2 million tonnes) during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the population was recovering until 2015 when the populations began to decline. This decline has continued and the estimated 2025 SSB (2,740,823 tonnes) was 10% below Blim (3,067,017 tonnes).The stock is therefore in a very overfished state, and suffering reduced reproductive capacity.

Fishing pressure (F) exceeded upper limits during the early 2000s and then declined. It was below the level associated with Maximum Sustainable Yield (FMSY, 0.191) between 2011 and 2020, but has since increased. The estimated total catch in 2024 was 897,701 tonnes. F in 2024 was 0.27, which is 41% above FMSY. Therefore, fishing mortality is above target levels and the stock is not being harvested sustainably.

ICES advises that when the MSY approach is applied, catches in 2026 should be no more than 174,347 tonnes. This is a 70% decrease on the previous year's advice due to the decline in stock size, this advised reduction of fishing pressure is to achieve a 50% probability of SSB being above Blim in 2027 and the change in the perception of the stock after the benchmark.

Catch data for 2021 and 2022 for the Russian Federation was estimated, but there is confidence in the estimates.

Catch and survey data from recent years indicate that the stock has expanded north-westwards during spawning and the summer feeding migration. The change may be linked to changes in food availability, increased water temperature, and / or increased stock size.

Some management measures are in place for Northeast Atlantic mackerel. However, this stock is fished by numerous countries and there is no joint management plan that covers the whole fishery to prevent overfishing. Catches have been consistently higher than scientific recommendations, and the stock is below safe biological levels.

This stock is fished by numerous countries. Of the total catch in 2024, Norway accounted for the greatest proportion (28%) followed by the UK (21%), Iceland (10%), Russia (9%) and Faroe Islands (8%), as well as Greenland and numerous EU countries. In the absence of sharing arrangements, the fishing parties declared unilateral quotas for 2024. Over the years, there have been a number of management approaches, but there is currently no joint management plan that covers the whole fishery.

All mackerel fishing states are contracting parties of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), which regulates fishing in international waters but does not enforce catch limits or allocate quotas among countries. A management strategy covering the EU, Faroes, and Norway was in place from 2015 to 2020. No agreement on the share of the stock was reached from 2021 to 2024. However, in 2025, four of the Coastal States (UK, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands) agreed on a sharing arrangement of mackerel which is valid through the end of 2028. The Coastal States Arrangement for mackerel, which began in the mid-1990s, saw periods without quota-sharing agreements, notably between 2008 and 2014. Despite ongoing meetings among key countries, there remains no consensus on quota sharing, leading some states to unilaterally increase their quotas, potentially impacting overall catch levels.

The recent unilateral quotas are a source of concern, but mismanagement has been occurring for much longer. The combined catch limits (Total Allowable Catches, TACs) set by all parties have exceeded the scientifically recommended limits by between 5% and 80% since 2009.

Between 2021 and 2025, Total Allowable Catches (TACs) were, on average, 42% higher than scientific advice. Although actual catches have typically fallen below these TACs, they still exceeded recommended levels by an average of 25% (204,939 tonnes). From 2020 to 2024, a total of 1,024,693 tonnes of mackerel were caught above the advice aligned with the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) approach. While there is consensus that catches should follow scientific advice, countries have yet to agree on how to allocate quotas between the countries.

Therefore, scientific advice is not being followed, and current management measures are inappropriate for protecting this stock. The stock has been declining since 2015, which seems likely to be caused by this poor management.

In the North Sea, mackerel experienced significant declines in the 1960s as a result of overfishing. As a result, there are some specific mackerel regulations in this area. These include a ban on mackerel fishing in 3a and 4b-c, and a seasonal closure in 4a from February-July. Other components of the stock are less protected.

There is also some national legislation. This includes specific catch limits for Spanish fisheries and Cornish handline fisheries. In southwest England, fishing for mackerel by any method other than handlining is prohibited, to protect juvenile mackerel. This is known as the Mackerel Box.

There is a Minimum Conservation Reference Size of 30cm in the North Sea and 20cm in the western area. Below the MCRS, fish cannot be sold for human consumption. Under the EU Landings Obligation (LO) and UK law, it is illegal to discard unwanted (e.g. undersized or over-quota) mackerel at sea. However, there are exemptions in bottom trawl fisheries in Western Waters and the North Sea. Discarding of unwanted mackerel catches is known to take place at low levels, estimated to be less than 1% of the total catch. Discarding of small mackerel has historically been a major problem in the mackerel fishery and was largely responsible for the introduction of the Mackerel Box.

The EU and UK both have fishery management measures, which can include catch limits, population targets, and gear restrictions. However, compliance in the EU and UK has been inconsistent, with ongoing challenges in implementing some regulations. The goal of reaching Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) by 2020 was missed, with less than half of UK TACs in 2024 following ICES advice. In 2024, the EU and UK reaffirmed their commitment to sustainable fisheries by aligning management with scientific advice to gradually approach MSY. However, no new target date has been set for achieving MSY across all fisheries.

The Marine Conservation Society views Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) with cameras is one of the most cost-effective tools for providing reliable fisheries data and aiding informed management decisions. Fully monitored fisheries enhance collaboration, data accuracy, stock recovery, and reduce impacts on marine wildlife and habitats. However, the full potential of REM may only be achieved when it tracks fishing location and documents catch and bycatch, particularly where vulnerable species and habitats are at risk. As of January 2024, the EU is introducing a Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) mandate for EU vessels, including CCTV cameras on vessels 18m or more that pose a potential risk of non-compliance, within the next 4 years. Across the UK, different approaches to REM are being taken and legislation is expected to be in place across all 4 countries within the next few years.

The Fisheries Act (2020) requires the development of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) (replacing EU Multi-Annual Plans) in the UK. 43 FMPs have been proposed and are at various stages of development and implementation, these should all be published by the end of 2028. FMPs have the potential to be very important tools for managing UK fisheries, although data limitations may delay them for some stocks. It is also essential the UK governments define and adopt a standardised approach or model across the four nations to a universally defined FMP design, to ensure the consistence, quality and coherence of all the proposal FMPs.

The Marine Conservation Society is keen to see publicly available Fishery Management Plans for all commercially exploited stocks, especially where stocks are depleted, that include:

• An overview of the fishery including current stock status, spatial coverage, current fishing methods and impacts
• Targets for fishing pressure and biomass, and additional management when those targets are not being met, based on the best scientific evidence
• Timeframes for stock recovery
• Improved data collection, transparency, and accountability, supported by technologies such as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM)
• Consideration of wider environmental impacts of the fishery, including habitat impacts and minimising bycatch
• Stakeholder engagement

A Northern Shelf Mackerel FMP has been proposed, coordinated by the Marine Directorate that incorporates this stock. At the time of writing, it is too soon to know whether proposed management measures will be effective in managing the stock. For more information about this FMP and expected progress and timelines, see [https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fisheries-management-plans#published-fmps].

Midwater trawling and purse seine netting are relatively low-impact fishing methods, with little bycatch and no habitat impacts.

Most mackerel (around 71%) is caught by pelagic trawling, with purse seining making up most of the rest at around 28%.

These methods have little or no contact with the seabed, and therefore habitat impacts are low.

As a result of high resolution electronic sonar equipment, the fisheries are highly selective. The sonar allows vessels to identify and target shoals comprising a single species, so there is very little bycatch of other fish.

Mackerel trawls have been known to have a bycatch of dolphins and porpoises, but at low levels. Some cetaceans have been recorded actively following midwater trawlers to predate on the fish within the nets, which can lead to entanglement. The mackerel fishery is not recorded as having population level impacts on any cetacean species, unlike other fisheries such as seabass in the Bay of Biscay.

Mackerel is important prey for some whales, dolphins, and Atlantic bluefin tuna. Excessive removals of mackerel may therefore have an impact on these species. Conversely, the increasing presence of mackerel in Icelandic and Barents Sea waters following warming sea temperatures may have negative impacts on cetacean populations. The impact of the mackerel fishery on food webs in a changing climate needs to be better understood.