Scotland’s Future Catching Policy: selectivity proposals 2026

What do we have now?

• This fleet segment comprises of approximately 1023 fishing vessels in Scottish waters, who use pots and creels as their primary method of fishing*. Of this, 892 are inshore and 131 are offshore (outside the 12nm line).
• Inshore potters and creelers consist of 848 Scottish registered vessels and 44 UK registered vessels.
• Offshore potters and creelers consist of 98 Scottish registered vessels, 29 UK registered and 4 non-UK vessels.
• Best practice guidance for the creel fishery to reduce the incidence of entanglement of minke whales and basking sharks.
• The Outer Hebrides Inshore Fisheries Pilot included a number of management measures and provided fishers with an app which could record marine mammal entanglement.

*More vessels may use this method, but not as their primary gear

What does the evidence say about what needs to change?

• The main species reported entangled in creel gear are minke whales, basking sharks and humpback whales, although entanglements involving leatherback turtles, harbour seals, grey seals, smaller whales, dolphins and porpoises have also been recorded.
• The study by the Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA) published in 2021 analysed strandings data collected by the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMASS) from between 2005 and 2019. Analysis of the strandings data showed that 32 cases between 2015 and 2018 were identified to have been entangled in rope consistent with creel fishing. Strandings data collected by SMASS between 2019 and 2025 found that 54 cetaceans were shown to exhibit injuries consistent with general fishing gear entanglement during this timeframe, as well as 9 grey seals, 1 harbour seal, 4 basking sharks and 1 blue shark. Cetacean species recorded were humpback whales, minke whales, Sowerby’s beaked whale, Risso’s dolphin, killer whale, dolphin species, short-beaked common dolphin and sperm whale.
• Although injuries consistent with entanglement were observed, it cannot be said for certain in all cases which type of gear the entanglement was caused by, or if this was the cause of death.
• SEA also interviewed over 150 creel fishers about their experience of entanglements. The results of all the information combined resulted in estimates of around 30 minke whales and 6 humpback whales becoming entangled in creel gear in Scottish waters each year; these entanglements mostly occurred in floating groundlines.
• The SEA study suggested that although entanglements are rare at an individual vessel level the combined numbers for the whole creel fleet are substantial.
• Trials carried out by SEA of creel fleets using sinking groundline rather than floating found that most fishers encountered very few problems with re-roped fleets, in some cases preferring them to gear made up with floating groundlines. These trials also showed the sinking rope lay lightly on the seabed with minimal movement.

What are we proposing will change?

• Continue to support and promote the use of sinking groundline
• Look at ways to incentivise the use of sinking groundline

What the end result will be?

• Supporting the use of sinking groundline should help to reduce the entanglement of whales and basking sharks by decreasing interaction with gear as the groundline will sit gently on the seabed rather than floating in loops in the water column which increases entanglement risk.
• Further uptake of this gear type – specifically in areas where it has been found to be very practical to fish with – could be highly beneficial to the ecosystem without negatively impacting fishing operations.