Brixham cuttlefish catch to be capped after boom fishery halves in two years

Cuttlefish, the unglamorous mollusc that became the most valuable species landed at Brixham after the Brexit-era collapse of some whitefish markets, will be subject to catch limits for the first time from January after the Devon fleet and regulators agreed a management plan on Friday.

The plan, drawn up by the Devon and Severn inshore fisheries and conservation authority with the Marine Management Organisation, introduces a closed season from 1 April to 15 May, when adults move inshore to lay eggs on pots and nets, a minimum landing size of 12cm and a cap of 4,200 tonnes for the English Channel fleet, roughly the 2024 catch. Brixham landed 6,800 tonnes in 2023, worth £18.4m, and 3,300 tonnes last year.

Cuttlefish are not covered by EU or UK quota, and the fishery has grown almost unregulated since the early 2000s as French and British boats discovered a strong market in Italy and Spain, where the animal is a staple. Scientists at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science in Lowestoft said the Channel stock had fallen below the level needed to sustain recruitment in two of the past three years.

“A two-year animal that spawns once and dies is the easiest thing in the sea to wipe out,” said Dr Peter Scoresby, a cephalopod specialist at Cefas. “The good news is that it is also the quickest to bounce back if you give it one season’s grace.”

The plan was negotiated over 14 months with the South Western Fish Producer Organisation and the inshore potters who take a growing share of the catch. The industry’s acceptance marks a shift from 2022, when a proposed spring closure was rejected after a vote in which 70% of skippers opposed it.

“Nobody likes being told to tie up for six weeks,” said Dean Hollister, 51, who skippers the beam trawler Jenny Rose and chairs the Brixham trawler agents’ committee. “But in 2023 we were landing cuttle the size of a credit card because there was nothing else, and everyone could see where that was going. We would rather set the rules ourselves than have them set for us.”

The French fleet, which takes about 60% of the Channel catch, is not bound by the plan. The MMO said it was in discussions with the Normandy regional fisheries committee and expected a matching closed season on the French side by 2027. Without it, scientists warn, the English measures would protect only part of the stock.

Cuttlefish ink, bones and roe are sold for everything from pet food to fountain pens, but most of the Brixham catch leaves the country whole within 48 hours in refrigerated lorries. Fishers have been promised a share of a £3m Defra fund to develop a domestic market, starting with a trade stand at the Olympia food fair in March.