A challenge to Britain’s ban on commercial fishing for sandeels in the North Sea has been dismissed by a European court.

Sandeels are a vital source of food for seabirds that live along the UK coastline.

A closure order was put in place in March 2024 to prohibit trawlers netting the tiny fish from English waters, following concerns that sandeel stocks were becoming too low.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration has ruled there is no legal obligation to reverse the closure order after the EU claimed the move was “discriminatory and disproportionate”, and could threaten the future of commercial sand eel fishing in Denmark.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), which manages Bempton Cliffs in East Yorkshire, was one of several conservation organisations that called for the measure to remain in place and gave evidence in the court hearing.

Beccy Speight, the RSPB’s chief executive, said: “We are absolutely delighted the panel has found the ecological case for the closure of industrial sandeel fishing is sound.”

“Safeguarding sandeel stocks is a key part of the jigsaw that will help set our puffins, kittiwakes and the wider marine environment on the path to recovery.”

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) welcomed the EU court’s decision and said it had found “the UK successfully demonstrated that the measures taken to close English and Scottish waters were based on the best available science”.

Sandeels comprise a number of species of small fish and are caught commercially for use in animal feed and in oil production.

Danish fishing organisations had argued that the North Sea ban was “unnecessary” and claimed sandeel stocks were plentiful, disputing the scientific evidence.

Speaking before the court ruling Esben Sverdrup-Jensen, from the Danish Pelagic Producers’ Association, said the ban had a “massive impact” on the industry.

“It means we have lost about half of the fishing grounds that we have traditionally fished on for decades,” he said.

Mr Sverdrup-Jensen disputed the claim that sandeel stocks were under threat.

“Sandeel is probably the best managed fishery in the world,” he added.

The ruling means a sandeel fishing ban also remains in place in the Scottish areas of the North Sea, which has been welcomed by the Scottish government where there are continuing concerns about the seabird population.

The Scottish government’s Rural Affairs Secretary, Mairi Gougeon, said: “Protecting our marine ecosystem is vital to Scotland’s environment, and to the people and communities who rely on it.

“The ruling reaffirms the appropriateness of the actions we took last year to do just that.”