Ireland’s leading maritime newspaper covering the Coastal, Fishing and Maritime Communities
MARINE TIMES NEWS March 1st:
The 2025 Stock Book Published by Marine Institute
The Marine Institute has published The Stock Book 2025: Annual Review of Fish Stocks with Management Advice for 2026. The comprehensive scientific report, available through the Marine Institute’s Open Access Repository at oar.marine.ie, provides the latest assessments of 74 key fish stocks of importance to Ireland and offers evidence-based management advice for the year ahead.
As environmental and oceanographic conditions continue to change rapidly, the 2025 Stock Book highlights clear impacts on Ireland’s commercial fisheries.
Dr Ciaran Kelly, Director of Fisheries and Ecosystem Advisory Services (FEAS) at the Marine Institute, emphasised the significance of this year’s findings: “The 2025 Stock Book provides vital insights into how a changing marine environment is influencing fish stocks around Ireland. These scientific assessments form an essential evidence base for informing the medium term outlook for Ireland’s seafood sector.”
Dr Kelly added that Marine Institute scientists continue to play a leading role internationally: “Our teams remain at the forefront of European fisheries science, contributing extensively to the work of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), which provides the annual scientific advice on Total Allowable Catches.”
Dr Rick Officer, CEO of the Marine Institute, acknowledged the extensive collaboration behind the publication. “The Stock Book represents a huge scientific effort and close partnership with the Irish fishing industry. Ongoing sampling, data gathering and monitoring are essential to understanding the stresses on our marine ecosystems. Many fish stocks remain in a reduced state, and continued investment in research and monitoring are critical to informing effective management responses to evolving environmental conditions.”
Assessment of Irish Fisheries
The Stock Book represents the culmination of two years’ scientific work, including catch and landings analysis, at sea surveys, laboratory sampling, data processing, stock assessments and forecasting to provide management advice for 2026.
As in previous years, the publication opens with an overview of assessment approaches and advisory frameworks, followed by a summary table of scientific advice for each stock. It presents a Sustainability Assessment across 74 stocks of key importance to Ireland, alongside detailed FEAS scientific advice sheets combining key points, stock considerations and the full ICES advice.
New in 2025: Climate and Ecosystem Insights
An addition this year is a dedicated chapter “Fisheries and Ecosystems” examining the influence of climate change, oceanographic trends and environmental variability, with a particular focus on the Celtic Sea.
This review notes:
• Rising water temperatures may be disrupting plankton cycles, reducing food availability for juvenile fish.
• These conditions are contributing to a significantly reduced outlook for fishing opportunities in 2026.
• For the first time in 14 years, the number of stocks with biomass above key productivity thresholds has declined, even though fishing pressure has not increased.
The Stock Book highlights concerning patterns for emblematic species such as cod, haddock and whiting, which are experiencing persistently low recruitment—meaning fewer young fish are joining the stock.
Climate change signals growing pressure on marine ecosystems
Long-term climate trends outlined in the report show:
• Increasing sea temperature anomalies and more frequent marine heatwaves in the Northeast Atlantic.
• Earlier seasonal peaks in copepod biomass—an essential prey species—which may drive fish distributions northward.
• Knock on effects for spawning success, stock structure and overall ecosystem stability.
While uncertainties remain, the Marine Institute says that continued scientific monitoring is critical to detecting change and ensuring robust, up to date advice for fisheries management.
“The marine environment is changing, and we must continue to adapt our scientific approaches to understand these impacts,” said Dr Kelly. “The work of FEAS and the wider Marine Institute ensures that Ireland’s fisheries advice is grounded in the best available evidence.”
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In our February edition -
Once Lost Inshore Fleet Cannot Be Easily Rebuilt - NIFA warns of dangers ahead and calls for a major plan for inshore fisheries; The Aquaculture Licensing Scandal; The human dimension of a mackerel season that is at the crossroads – Blink and you might miss it; Fisheries must not be left on the sideline in development of MPAs, as has happened previously; the industry is in the worst place it has ever been ....
.... all of this plus so much more in our February issue
Puchase a single issue download from this link for just €2 - Order here
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