Research and analysis

Strategic environmental assessment environmental report - non-technical summary

Published 16 December 2025

Applies to England

Non-technical summary  

The queen scallop fisheries management plan (FMP) has been prepared to meet the requirements of the Fisheries Act 2020. It sets out the policies and proposed measures Defra will use to manage queen scallop fishing activity in English waters, so stocks are harvested within sustainable levels. Alongside these measures, the queen scallop FMP also sets out management approaches to help support wider social, economic and environmental aspects of the fishery. 

This environmental report has been produced in accordance with The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 (SEA Regulations 2004). The following issues (from Schedule 2, paragraph 6 of the SEA Regulations 2004) were scoped into the assessment:   

• biodiversity  

• fauna  

• flora  

• geology and sediments (soil)  

• water  

• climatic factors  

• cultural heritage  

• landscape and seascape  

This assessment focuses on how the policies and actions in the queen scallop FMP could give rise to both significant positive and negative environmental effects. The findings of this assessment have been used to inform the development of the FMP.  

The assessment was conducted against a baseline that primarily used existing evidence on the state of the marine environment. This evidence is set out in the updated UK Marine Strategy (UKMS) Part 1, published in 2019. Additional sources of evidence were used to establish the status of the environment in relation to issues not covered by the UKMS, such as climatic factors and cultural heritage.  

The historical impact of fishing activity on the marine environment has been considered part of the baseline. Our assessment used the best available evidence to reach a suitable judgement on the environmental effects of the queen scallop FMP.  

This report sets out those plans, programmes, and environmental protection objectives, both international and domestic, that Defra consider relevant to the queen scallop FMP. 

The report considers and acknowledges the existing environmental effects of queen scallop fishing using scallop dredges in relation to:  

• marine protected areas (MPAs) 

• the UKMS descriptors of good environmental status (GES) for the wider marine environment 

• climatic factors 

The potential positive and negative environmental effects of the queen scallop FMP’s policies and proposed measures, alone and in-combination, have also been assessed. 

The strategic environmental assessment (SEA) concluded that the current evidence shows the queen scallop fishery has an impact on the marine environment, primarily through seabed disturbance. The impact of scallop fishing in MPAs is managed in the 0 to 12 nautical miles (nm) zone in English waters. Management in MPAs beyond the 12nm limit is being considered and implemented where necessary.  

Further work is required to reduce the impact of scallop fishing on habitats beyond MPAs, to ensure GES targets for seabed integrity (D6) can be achieved. The contribution of scallop fishing to climate change related issues and its interactions with cultural heritage, through structural damage, for example, were also identified as potential impacts. 

The queen scallop FMP has considered these impacts and sets out proposals to monitor and, where required, introduce mitigation to address these impacts.  

The assessment of likely negative effects identified a low risk of significant adverse effects on the environment from implementing individual policies, measures, and actions. The policies, measures and actions will, where appropriate, be developed to avoid any potential negative effects identified by the assessment process. The environmental effects of implementing the queen scallop FMP policies and measures will also be monitored to identify unforeseen adverse effects at an early stage. This is so that appropriate remedial action can be undertaken. 

This assessment recommends that future iterations of the queen scallop FMP should consider:  

• how to develop the cultural heritage of each fishery, and how fisheries management can contribute to reducing potential negative interactions with marine heritage assets 

•  how fisheries management can contribute to reducing potential negative interactions with submerged prehistoric landscapes or seascapes 

Read the full environmental report for the queen scallop FMP.