UK crab and lobster populations in decline

Following the latest update to ratings on our Good Fish Guide, we’re calling for urgent action from the UK Government to address the continued and increasing threat to crab and lobster populations.

Our experts have updated our Good Fish Guide in line with the latest scientific advice, with 146 ratings updated. 29 ratings have moved down the sustainability scale, 93 stayed the same, and only 10 have improved.

Amongst the ratings that were scientifically updated this season, we reviewed all those for crab and lobster caught in England and Wales. Our Good Fish Guide includes 26 ratings for brown crab, and 28 ratings for European lobster caught in UK seas.

However, there is currently only one green-rated crab fishery, in Shetland, and one green-rated lobster fishery, in Jersey. Both of these fisheries are well managed, and they pave the way for what sustainable practices could look like across the UK.

Shellfish such as crab and lobster are typically caught in pots, traps and creels, and these have the potential to be some of the most sustainable ways of catching seafood. As baited pots are lowered onto the seafloor, attracting crabs and lobsters to crawl inside, before being hauled back up to the surface, fishers can choose which crab or lobster they land. This means that fishing in this way can be very selective, protecting young and breeding individuals.

Find out more about fishing methods.

However, a boat can carry and set anything from dozens to hundreds of pots at a time, depending on its size. Currently, the UK Government has set no limit on how many pots can be used, or how many crabs and lobsters can be caught. This is potentially unsustainable for populations. Although some areas have a pot limit in place, it's not known if this is enough to improve the stock.

This autumn’s update to the Good Fish Guide sees crab fisheries in Northumberland, Kent and Essex, Southern, Isles of Scilly and Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority (IFCA) districts all receiving a lower score due to decreased population numbers, but they they retain their amber rating.

Kenneth Bodles, our Head of Innovative Conservation, said, ‘’We're really concerned about the picture of crab and lobster across the UK. If managed well, crab and lobster could be a flagship species for sustainable fishing in the UK, supporting local people whose communities have been built on fishing for these iconic species."

The UK Government published a Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) for crab and lobster in December 2023. FMPs are a requirement of the Fisheries Act 2020, the UK Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS), and a commitment in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 for England. FMPs assess the status of stocks and must set out policies to restore stocks to, or maintain them at, sustainable levels.

The FMP for crab and lobster has a “long-term vision” to achieve sustainable management of fisheries, however, it’s not yet clear how the measures set out will achieve this, or to what timescale they'll be working.

Alice Moore, our Good Fish Guide Manager said, “The Good Fish Guide shows us that we need better management measures for these fisheries right across the UK. The Fisheries Management Plan set out by the UK Government is welcome, but it doesn't currently go far enough in specifying the measures and timescales needed to effectively restore populations of crab and lobster.

"The examples of the crab fishery in Shetland and lobster in Jersey provide evidence that better management can achieve sustainable fishing and still allow populations to thrive.”

We want to see:

• Regular stock assessments in place across the UK (at least every two years) to better monitor populations
• Crab and lobster fisheries management measures with effort controls that are responsive to changes in stock status
• Capture methods that minimise habitat damage and the impact on vulnerable species.