During 2026, new legislation - the result of an agreement between the UK Government and the European Union - is planned to come into force for recreational pollack fishing that limits catches to three fish per angler per day.
It will result in more fish being released after they are caught, but new research has suggested changing how that release happens could have a marked difference on the fisheries' long-term sustainability.
Specifically, it suggests that releasing pollack closer to the depths they are normally caught could improve their chances of survival by almost 25%.
This, the researchers say, is down to the fact that deeper release quickly counters many of the effects they experience when captured at depth and brought to the surface, something often described as barotrauma.
The research was conducted as part of the Pollack Fisheries Industry Science Partnership project (
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"> Pollack FISP), an initiative supported through the government's £100m UK Seafood Fund.
Led by researchers at the University of Plymouth, the Pollack FISP project also involved scientists from the University of York, Marine Biological Association, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and University of East Anglia, as well as representatives from the Professional Boatman's Association and the Angling Trust.
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