<p dir="ltr">Key signals</p><p dir="ltr">-Vessel numbers have declined across most of the countries fishing in the ecoregion in the past decade.</p><p dir="ltr">-Total landings fluctuated around 1 million tonnes between 2014 and 2020 and were lower, at 0.77-0.92 million tonnes, in 2021-2023. Pelagic fisheries continue to dominate landings by volume.</p><p dir="ltr">-Discard rates of elasmobranchs stocks are high (> 30%).</p><p dir="ltr">-Average fishing mortalities have generally declined since the mid-1990s for stocks within the benthic, demersal, and elasmobranch guilds.</p><p dir="ltr">-Some stocks continue to be fished above F<sub>MSY</sub>, including mackerel and blue whiting in the pelagic guild.</p><p dir="ltr">-On average, the spawning stock size in all guilds is currently above MSY B<sub>trigger</sub>, although some stocks including gadoids in the Celtic Sea<a href="#_ftn1" target="_blank">[1]</a> (cod, haddock and whiting) remain below MSY B<sub>trigger</sub>. The status of mackerel was below MSY B<sub>trigger </sub>in 2024 and 2025.</p><p dir="ltr">-Changes in species interactions, diets, and fish distributions are affecting stock abundances and fisheries in the Celtic Sea.</p><p dir="ltr">-In relation to mixed-fisheries:</p><ul><li>Landings shares for individual stocks are dominated by demersal trawl métiers (demersal fish or <i>Nephrops</i>) and beam trawl métiers (benthic flatfish and skates and rays), though longlines and gillnets have a significant landing share for some stocks in the Celtic Sea (e.g. hake and ling), as do pots in the West of Scotland (<i>Nephrops</i>).</li><li>Fleet landings compositions in the Celtic Sea have remained relatively stable since 2015, with some trends over time in some fleets towards dominant stocks. There can be significant differences in landings composition between both gear type and between country within the same gear type, reflecting different targeting and gear efficiencies.</li><li>Annual mixed‑fisheries forecasts indicate that most fleets are limited by the zero‑catch advice for cod, haddock, and whiting in the Celtic Sea. No forecasts are available for the Irish sea or the West of Scotland.</li></ul><p><br></p>