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August news alert sent to FMIG subscribers on 31 August 2022.

Minutes from Seafish South West Advisory Committee (SSWAC) meeting held on 15 November 2022.

Minutes for the meeting of the Crab and Lobster Management Group (CMG) which took place on 25th September 2024 via Microsoft Teams.

The morning session covered different views and perspectives on current fishing practices. The afternoon session looked at the future for marine protection.

King scallop cultivation depends upon two years of long-line culture to produce a 50mm shell height animal, large and robust enough to be re-laid in a fishery with a relatively high survival rate of 50-90% dependant on depth of seawater. It is proposed to develop and deploy a number of cultch filled habitats (six) in an area of Loch Sligachan in 18m of seawater then monitor for spat and predator settlement and survival.

Part of the Seafood 2040 aquaculture strategy for England - this full report includes a review of the English aquaculture landscape and current barriers to growth, along with the rationale and methodology behind the strategy.

The fish processing industry has a long-standing tradition and is of key importance to regional UK economies. This report presents an overview and detailed analysis of the fish processing industry with particular emphasis on the sea fish processing sector. The analyses contained in this report utilise the latest UK seafood processing industry information, which is gathered and managed by Seafish Economics, namely 2014 Census data, 2012 Financial Survey data and qualitative research data gathered in late 2014 – early 2015.

This report documents the development of a website designed to provide information which would assist scallop processors in biotoxin risk assessment. The website provides information from four reference sources: Food Standards Agency Scotland biotoxin and phytoplankton monitoring results; an industry biotoxin database; a biotoxin risk calendar and the Met Office chlorophyll map for UK waters. Each information source was presented in an easily interpreted graphical format together with a laymen’s explanation of how the reference information should be used and interpreted. In addition, online training videos were provided.

The FisherMap protocol has been revised in order to map out commercial fishing grounds, main target species and gear contribution to fishermen’s livelihood. The initial version developed by Finding Sanctuary, the Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) project for the South-west of England, used a questionnaire and mapping survey followed by validation meetings to describe the extent of fishing grounds. The revised protocol, used by the three new MCZ regional projects, links individual grounds to percentage gross earnings. Using data from the Seafish annual fisheries economic survey data by fleet segment, it will now be possible to convert individual percentage values into a common currency across fisheries, in a way similar to the 100 pennies approach pioneered by Ecotrust in California. The revised protocol also uses a simplified and standardised gear description directly compatible with the codes used by the Marine and Fisheries and other Agencies. This will make it easier to cross-validate data from various sources. However, the coarse time scale (overall average over last 5 years) and precise local spatial definition used in FisherMap provide unique and rich information that are not collected elsewhere. With the revised FisherMap, the validation group meetings will also have to discuss and finalise the overall economic value of composite maps of local fishing grounds. The same, or subsequent, group meetings presenting the regional conservation priorities will ask fishermen to share their expert local knowledge of essential fish habitats, features and species targeted by the conservation objectives. Local knowledge will be essential to obtain meaningful estimates of both economic and environmental impacts (positive and negative) that the MCZ regional projects need to estimate for their Impact Assessment (IA) of each proposed network and associated management regime. MCZ regional projects would greatly benefit from using Seafish species guides and information on basic fishing methods, and from collaborative work with Seafish, especially Seafish economists to devise a sampling strategy for fishing vessels along the coast and use the best economics data available to conduct their Impact Assessments.

July news alert sent to FMIG subscribers on 1 August 2022.

Barrie Deas, NFFO and Suzannah Walmsley, ABPmer, talked about the NFFO/SFF report: The Frightening Outlook of Fisheries Displacement – Spatial Squeeze in fisheries.