There is concern for the biomass of common cuttlefish, and for the fishing pressure on the stock within the English Channel and Celtic Seas region.
The common cuttlefish fishery in the English Channel and wider Celtic Seas is of significant commercial importance. However, stock status remains uncertain due to limited data. In 2023, ICES conducted an assessment using data up to 2022, but it had notable limitations. Due to these uncertainties, Route 2 (data limited) scoring has been applied to this rating. The common cuttlefish is considered highly resilient to fishing pressure.
From 2020 to 2022, most catches in the English Channel (ICES areas 27.7.d,e) and Celtic Seas region (ICES Area 27.7.a,b,c,f,g,h,j,k) were taken by France, followed by the UK. Landings in the English Channel peaked between 2003 and 2007 (~18,000 tonnes), while in the Celtic Seas, they peaked between 2009 and 2011 (~2,000 tonnes). Since then, both areas have shown a declining trend in landings, with some fluctuations.
In 2022, the English Channel accounted for 64.8% of total catches (12,055 tonnes), up from 52.5-63.6% in 2019 to 2021. Mean catches between 2020-2022 in the English Channel (9,524 tonnes) were below both the mean of 2017-2019 (10,808 tonnes) and the historical mean (10,415 tonnes). A similar trend was observed in the Celtic Seas, with mean catches between 2020-2022 (374 tonnes) below both the mean of 2017-2019 (605 tonnes) and the historical mean (629 tonnes).
There are concerns for common cuttlefish biomass. Biomass indices indicate a long-term decline since peak abundance between 1998 and 2007, which aligns with reduced landings. However, since biomass has been declining for longer than landings, evidence suggests that cuttlefish stocks are either fully or over exploited. Combined with limited research on stock status and exploitation rates, this raises concerns for current fishing pressure on the stock.
