Marine Ingredients Denmark has expressed its concerns over the UK sandeel ban and its effect on the Danish industrial fishing sector
Marine Ingredients Denmark has expressed significant concern over the UK government’s recent decision to maintain the closure of the sandeel fishery in North Sea waters.
The UK’s statement on 25 June 2025 confirmed the continued ban, citing the need to protect and restore the marine ecosystem and ensure good environmental status. While acknowledging a “procedural error” in the initial decision-making, the UK stated that a new process has been completed, reaffirming the closure.
Marine Ingredients Denmark views this decision with apprehension, particularly as it appears to be based on national reports rather than the independent scientific advice provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The organisation argues that by disregarding ICES’s assessments, the common understanding of what constitutes the best available scientific advice – a cornerstone of both fisheries management and international agreements – is being undermined.
The group finds it especially problematic that the closure is not proportionate to the biological advice provided by ICES, nor to the substantial socio-economic consequences it inflicts. This impact is particularly severe for the Danish fishing and processing sectors, which are heavily dependent on sandeel fishing.
For Marine Ingredients Denmark, it remains crucial that ICES continues to be recognised as the central and objective source of fisheries scientific advice. They stress the importance of ensuring access to the sandeel fishery on a professional and contractual basis. This is deemed vital not only for mitigating negative impacts on employment and value creation in Denmark, but also for upholding existing international agreements, including the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the EU and the UK.
Despite the EU and the UK having reached an agreement on 19 May to extend mutual access to each other’s waters for a further 12 years – an agreement welcomed by Marine Ingredients Denmark as a step towards stability and predictability – they express surprise that the UK is choosing to maintain a national fishing ban that appears disproportionate to scientific advice and joint agreements.
Consequently, Marine Ingredients Denmark is calling on both Danish and European authorities to actively work towards reopening the sandeel fishery to EU vessels as part of the extended access agreement, and to ensure that all future decisions are based on transparent and scientifically sound grounds.
Source: Marine Ingredients Denmark
