Response to arbitration tribunal final report: UK-Sandeel (The European Union v. the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
Source: gov.uk (2025-06-25)

UK Government statement on the sandeel Arbitration Tribunal’s final ruling in the UK-Sandeel case

- The UK Government has received the sandeel Arbitration Tribunal’s final ruling in the UK-Sandeel case.
- While the UK succeeded in the majority of its arguments, the Tribunal identified a procedural error in the decision to close English waters.
- The ruling does not mean the UK is legally obliged to reverse the closure of English waters, and the decision to close Scottish waters was fully upheld.
- The government will undertake a process in good faith to bring the UK into compliance.
The sandeel Arbitration Tribunal has published its final ruling.

This relates to decisions taken in March 2024 by the UK and Scottish Governments to close our North Sea Waters to sandeel fishing. The decisions were taken to protect vulnerable seabird populations and support the wider marine environment.

In April 2024, the EU launched dispute proceedings to challenge the closures. In October 2024, the EU referred the challenge to an arbitration tribunal to rule on the dispute.

The report found that the UK successfully demonstrated that the measures taken to close English and Scottish waters were based on the best available science and had sufficient regard to the principle of non-discrimination. The tribunal also found that the Scottish measures had sufficient regard to the principle of proportionality.

The Tribunal found that during the decision-making process to close English waters to sandeel fishing, the UK did not have sufficient regard to the principle of proportionality, specifically in relation to EU rights during the adjustment period - a requirement under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).

The government will now undertake a process in good faith to bring the UK into compliance.

There is no legal obligation for the UK to reverse the closures while the compliance process takes place, and the report does not indicate that compliance must require reversing the closures.

A government spokesperson said:

We welcome the clarity provided by this decision, and we will undertake a process in good faith to bring the UK into compliance on the specific issues raised by the Tribunal.

The ruling does not mean the UK is legally obliged to reverse the closure of English waters, and the decision to close Scottish waters was fully upheld.

We remain committed to protecting our seabirds and the wider marine environment, in accordance with our commitments to the TCA and other international agreements.

Disputes and the use of resolution mechanisms are a normal part of a mature relationship with international partners. We will continue to act in the national interest as we work towards a strong and lasting partnership with our European neighbours.

Further update as of June 25th, 2025

The UK has written to the EU to confirm the measures we have taken to comply with the sandeel Arbitration Tribunal’s ruling. The Tribunal’s report identified a procedural shortcoming in the process for deciding to close English waters to sandeel fishing. They did not find fault with UK objectives or the scientific basis for implementing the measures. The UK has now completed a new decision-making process based on updated advice and evidence, which takes into account all the requirements set out in the Tribunal’s report. This includes full consideration of the EU’s rights and interests during the adjustment period.

Following this new decision-making process, we have determined that the closure of sandeel fishing in English waters of the North Sea remains necessary to achieve our objective of improving the protection and recovery of the marine ecosystem, as well as the Good Environmental Status (GES) of UK waters. We consider that this new decision-making process resolves the failings identified by the Tribunal, and brings us into compliance with our TCA obligations. The closures will therefore remain in place.

Attached is:
- Sandeel advice - May 2025 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685be22089ba18761d9760f1/Sandeel_advice_-_May_2025.pdf) (PDF, 181 KB, 15 pages)
- Sandeel advice - June 2025 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685aba74e9509f1a908eb144/Sandeel_advice_-_June_2025.pdf) (PDF, 150 KB, 4 pages)
- De minimis assessment 2023 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685aba8545eea7ef2e620774/De_minimis_assessment_2023.pdf) (PDF, 812 KB, 22 pages)
- De minimis assessment 2025 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685aba9245eea7ef2e620775/De_minimis_assessment_2025.pdf) (PDF, 216 KB, 6 pages)
- Evidence report - April 2025 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685aba9f45eea7ef2e620778/Evidence_report_-_April_2025.pdf) (PDF, 751 KB, 34 pages)