European hake

Stock Status Score: 0.25

Northern hake is fully fished and not subject to overfishing.

Stock assessments are carried out by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The most recent assessment was published in 2026 using data up to 2026. The next assessment is expected in 2027.

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. 

The stock assessment was benchmarked in 2022. Estimates of spawning stock biomass (SSB) now only include females, whereas previously they included males as well.

The spawning-stock biomass (SSB) has increased substantially from being below biologically safe levels (Blim) in 2006 (around 45,000 tonnes) to peak at around 293,000t in 2015. It has since declined to 98,611 t in 2026. This is still above MSY Btrigger (78,405t) but has dropped below the GFG proxy for BMSY (109,767t). The stock is therefore not in an overfished state.

Fishing mortality (F) decreased significantly between 2005 and 2012, and has been fluctuating at or below levels associated with Maximum Sustainable Yield (FMSY, 0.24) since 2009. In 2025 it was 0.24, equal to FMSY. The stock is therefore not subject to overfishing.

ICES advises that when the MSY approach is applied, catches in 2027 should be no more than 46,824 tonnes. This is a 15% decrease on the previous year's advice, because of the decreasing trend in stock size.

There is some uncertainty in this stock assessment. The biomass surveys don't cover the entire stock distribution area, and changes in distribution are known to increase uncertainty in the assessment. Analyses show that the new assessment tends to revise historical SSB downwards and F upwards when a new year’s data is added. If this pattern continues, this may result in an inflated advised catch.

Management of the Target Stock Score: 0.5

Alignment with Scientific Advice Score: 0.25

Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Score: 0.25

Emergency management of this stock in 2001 has recovered it to very good levels. Ongoing management measures appear to be controlling the fishery, but discarding can be an issue in some areas and catch limits do not cover all of the countries accessing the stock.

Northern hake is a shared stock between the UK, EU, and Norway. There is no joint management plan, although one is being considered. The main management measure is to set catch limits (Total Allowable Catches, TACs).

ICES recommends catch limits for the northern hake stock as a whole. However, TACs apply only to the UK and EU member states and waters, so there is potential for overfishing if other states are accessing the stock (e.g. Norway). The agreed TACs were set in line with scientific advice for some of the last 5 years (2022 – 2026) However, in 2022 and 2025, the TACs exceeded the advice by 5% and 6% respectively. In both cases, ICES had recommended a greater than 20% decrease in catch, but hake TACs can't change by more than 20% in one year, so TACs remained above the advice.

Between 2021 and 2025, actual catches remained below the scientific advice. This could be an indication that the stock biomass has been overestimated. Caution is needed because hake are fast growing with a high natural mortality rate, so if the biomass starts to decline it could drop rapidly. A Harvest Control Rule would help to mitigate this, as it would reduce exploitation rates when certain biological reference points are approached.

Overall, currently, catch limits appear to be set in line with scientific advice and actual catches are within these limits.

Other measures include:

• Minimum conservation reference size: hake can legally be caught and sold at 27cm (30cm in Skagerrak and Kattegat). Below this size, hake have to be landed but can't be sold for human consumption and so have a lower value. Hake mature at around 35-45cm, so this doesn't prevent juveniles from being caught.
• Landing obligation: it is illegal to discard unwanted (e.g. below-minimum-size, BMS) hake at sea. Overall, around 6% of the catch has been discarded in the last three years, and discarding rates have decreased since 2015. However, discarding of juvenile hake (both above and below MCRS) can be substantial in some areas and fleets, particularly gillnetting. Recently, discarding of large individuals increased because of quota restrictions in certain fleets. Continued monitoring is required.

An Emergency Plan was brought in in 2001 to recover the stock, involving a TAC reduction and minimum mesh size of 100mm (depending on vessel size, location and proportion of hake in the total catch). It included targets for increasing stock size and reducing fishing mortality, and limited changes in TAC from year to year. The stock is now in a very good state, and fishing pressure is at sustainable levels, although this has been strongly influenced by good spawning years in 2008 and 2012.

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 Landing Obligation (LO), an EU law retained by the UK post-Brexit, requires all quota fish to be landed, even if unwanted (over-quota or below minimum size). It aims to encourage more selective fishing methods, reduce bycatch, and improve catch reporting. However, compliance is poor, and accurate discard levels are hard to quantify with current monitoring programmes. The UK is in the process of replacing the LO with country-specific Catching Policies.   

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 

Capture Method Score: 0.75

Habitat Impacts: 0

Bycatch Impacts: 0.25

Vulnerable and ETP Species: 0.75

Ecosystems and Trophic Webs: 0.25

Some hake is caught by longlining. Longlining can have a bycatch of vulnerable species such as sharks and seabirds, and may be contributing to the population decline of fulmars.

Most Hake catches are by otter trawl, around 50%, 25% is captured by otter trawl, and 17% by longline.

ICES reports large scale bycatch of great shearwaters in the Spanish hake longline fishery on the Grand Sole fishing bank, southwest of the UK and Ireland. A global review estimated the seabird bycatch in 2006-7 from this fishery to be over 56,000 seabirds. This was the worst performing longline fishery, globally, although it was based on limited data and may be an overestimate. Since then, some parts of the fleet have worked to improve mitigation measures, including bird scaring devices, hook design, or fishing at times when seabirds are not active. While this level of bycatch is concerning, great shearwaters are not threatened or declining.

There is also bycatch of northern fulmars in the northern North Sea and west of Scotland. This species is listed as endangered in Europe. Bycatch estimates are very uncertain, as observer coverage is very low. For the UK offshore longline fleet, which is mainly targeting hake, they range from around 2,000-9,000 fulmars per year, with a point estimate of around 5,000. While much of the UK longline fleet is implementing bycatch mitigation, studies have noted that other longline fleets are also accessing the hake stock and bycatch mitigation may not be in place for all of them. Total mortality of fulmars could therefore be underestimated. The fulmar population from a census in 1998-2002 was around 500,000, but it is thought to have declined by as much as 50% since then. The cause of this decline is unclear, and could be related to reductions in the amount of fish and offal being discarded at sea by trawlers. However, a recent study estimated that removing all bycatch mortality for the species in the UK could allow a population increase of 2% over 25 years.

ACAP (the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels) recommends best practice for reducing seabird bycatch in longline fisheries. This includes the simultaneous use of weighted hooks, bird scaring lines and night setting, or hook-shielding or underwater bait setting devices. A recent review of the longline hake fishery in offshore Scottish waters found that the best practice was not being met, and more research and mitigation measures were needed.

The Marine Conservation Society therefore considers it likely that hake longlining is contributing to population decline of fulmars, and / or is preventing recovery.

There may also be bycatch of skates, rays, and sharks. More data is needed to understand the level of catch and impact that this is having.