Hannah Rudd

Climate change driving octopus surge, says Plymouth scientist Greater numbers of octopus in the sea has led to a dramatic fall in shellfish which the octopus preys on.

Thanks so much to @mojo90.bsky.social for interviewing me for this article about the #octopus bloom in the SW of the UK. It's a tentacle takeover down here!
"Climate driving octopus surge, says scientist"
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... @thembauk.bsky.social @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social 🐙

Fisheries Minister praises anglers' move to adopt voluntary guidelines to support pollack recovery The Angling Trust and the Professional Boatmen’s Association (PBA), have recently launched new voluntary guidelines for recreational pollack fishing, aimed at promoting sustainable practices and aidin...

Great to see on all fronts! Fisheries Minister praises anglers’ move to adopt voluntary guidelines to support #pollack recovery anglingtrust.net/2025/03/18/v... #fisheries #angling #recreationalfisheries #conservation @hannahrudd.bsky.social @anglingtrust.bsky.social 👏 🐟

Unfortunately on my way to Cheltenham today for the Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society AGM one of my tyres burst, so, sadly I won’t be attending the event in-person tomorrow.

HOWEVER, we live in a world of modern technology! I’ll deliver my presentation online instead. Thanks to the organisers! 🤗

Today marks the start of the bass closed season.

Reminder for anglers that from now (1st February) to 31st March bass fishing is catch and release only for recreational anglers from the boat or the shore.

Commercial fishing is also closed during this time.

There are great initiatives like Keep Fish Wet, Return ‘Em Right and Check Clean Dry that are providing anglers with guidance on these key areas.

Watch this space too for guidance by the Angling Trust coming soon for marine species.

Great to see the below guidance published by Fisheries Management Scotland as part of the Wild Salmon Strategy.

fms.scot/wp-content/u...

Key factors can be applied to many species anglers target beyond salmon like:

✅ Fish handling & air exposure

✅ Best practices for fish weighing & photography

Thank you to the Missing Salmon Alliance and The Fishmongers'​ Company for organising and hosting this crucial event.

While we aren’t doing much in this space now to protect wild salmon at sea, the policy levers & management mechanisms already exist for us to safeguard wild salmon along our coastline in the UK. If we have the political will & ambition to do so.

I hope the Minister took this away as a key message.

Thank you to everyone who made this event an inspiring and thought-provoking few days. I am often immersed in the world of sharks and other marine species like pollack and cod as opposed to salmon, but the common themes of decline are sadly universal no matter the event you attend.

🐟 Ban gillnet fisheries within the UK’s Marine Protected Area Network as a minimum

🐟 Invest in data collection on wild salmon at sea, including bycatch risk and tracking

To give wild salmon the best chance at sea, here’s some steps we should be taking:

🐟 Recognise salmon (and other diadromous fish) as marine species in fisheries management

🐟 Embed measures to monitor and reduce salmonid bycatch throughout UK Fisheries Management Plans (where relevant)

I spoke in a session focused on bycatch risk and mitigation alongside colleagues from Blue Marine Foundation and The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust At the Angling Trust, we are passionate about reducing and, where possible ending, bycatch so it was brilliant to take part in this.

Atlantic salmon are endangered and declining rapidly. We urgently need to take action to safeguard their future.

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to attend an inspiring event - Wild Salmon Connections - hosted by the Missing Salmon Alliance at Fishmongers’ Hall.

Great thread below from @hannahrudd.bsky.social re more representation from recreational fisheries in any relevant discussions. Arguably the most important sector nationally when health and wellbeing also factored in? Great idea for a wider UK “state of the nation” fisheries conference 👍

It’s the greatest honour of my life to work with so many incredible people in the marine and coastal sector. I’m so thankful for my mentors, colleagues, and ultimately, friends, who make working in this field feel like I’ve won the lottery every day.

Let’s keep pushing for sustainable seas for all

I can’t help but feel that we need a dedicated conference on UK Fisheries to dive into these conversations more. @coastalfutures.bsky.social one to think about?

Recreational fishers are increasingly being intregrated in fisheries management and stock assessments with the sector focusing on its role in conservation too. If you’re interested I can talk to you for days about this!

Recreational fishing generates more than economic benefits. There are people around our coastline in socio-economically deprived communities who rely on recreational fishing to put food on their families tables, yet there’s never a conversation around its contribution to national food security.

Recreational sea fishing is recognised as being part of the UK fishing industry under UK law, yet there is often no recognition of the 12,000 people or 400 charter boats working in the sector. It involves almost a million anglers who generate roughly £1.5 billion for the UK economy.

I also thought about who wasn’t in the room, and who wasn’t on stage.

If we’re truly going to make conversations about all aspects of our coastal and marine environment inclusive, then everyone involved needs a seat at the table.

Personally, I feel we need more of these discussions.

Fishermen on the ground like who are calling on governments so passionately to do things differently, to reach environmental targets whilst securing the social and economic future of fishermen deserve to be heard more regularly.

I love fish, I love fishing, and I love eating fish - I know I’m not the only one.

But often these three aspects are put at odds with one another.

So at this years, #CoastalFutures it was amazing to hear from different perspectives on issues facing the fishing industry & sustainable fisheries.

For anyone at #CoastalFutures25

If you’re attending in-person stop by the University of Plymouth stand to learn more about two exciting Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships - Angling for Sustainability and Pollack FISP 😁🎣

Back at the Royal Geographical Society for this year’s annual Coastal Future conference. Exciting 😀

Fantastic to hear Minister Emma Hardy open with strong commitments on marine protection.

We look forward to working with her and her team on delivering sustainable and vibrant seas 🌊

Brilliant few days of talking salmon. Thank you to the organisers for inviting me to speak about wild salmon at sea.

In short, in the UK, we need:

1) Formal recognition of diadromous fish as marine species

2) Monitoring of pelagic fisheries bycatch

3) Better management of gillnet fisheries

Excited to be in London at Wild Salmon Connections hosted by the Missing Salmon Alliance in Fishmongers Hall. We’ll be highlighting and discussing the plight of Atlantic salmon and hope for the future over the next three days

Apologies, I didn’t write the article, just to clarify!

MP calls for ban on ‘bottom trawling’ of seabeds in marine protected areas Katie White compared bottom trawling, which is the act of dragging heavy nets across the seabed, with ‘ripping up an orchard to pick an apple’.

Read more here: www.northern-times.co.uk/news/nationa...

Calls to ban damaging bottom-trawling throughout the UK’s Marine Protected Area network were heard in Westminster yesterday.

The Angling Trust strongly supports this call to ban destructive bottom-trawling in the UK’s Marine Protected Areas and asks the UK Government to deliver its pledge in 2025.