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The availability of illegally landed fish, increased imports and cheaper
substitutes has led to a stabilisation of fish prices, and as a result, the long-term
economic forecasts for high quality, human consumption species are generally
optimistic in the harvesting sector, despite ICES warnings of overfishing and
uncertainties in fish production. This suggests that the current levels of bycatch and
illegal fishing are unlikely to be reduced over the next few years unless there is a
radical change in the management of North Sea fisheries or the ecosystem itself.
The other major aspect that the interviews looked at was the impacts of the
industrial fisheries and the overall adherence to regulations. Regarding the latter, all