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An initial review of industry contributions, withdrawals, synergies and trade-offs.

This report has been funded by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation in the frame of the project “Ökologisch verträgliche Krabbenfischerei” – “Sustainable brown shrimp fishery” (FKZ 3512 85 0400).

Due to the recent tightening of regulations surrounding the disposal of seafood processing waste to landfill, fish and shellfish processors are now facing a rise in the cost and difficulty of waste disposal. This is of particular concern in remote areas where alternative uses (e.g. fishmeal) are neither accessible nor economically viable and therefore, cost effective and environmentally-sound solutions to the disposal of this waste need to be found. This report examines the potential for disposal at sea, together with the likely impacts and advice on the selection of appropriate sites for disposal.

Quay Issues is a magazine for the fishing industry. This edition of Quay Issues shines a light on the way in which some businesses are rising to the challenges that the sector faces.

At the Marine Farming Unit, Ardtoe, a system was developed for the intensive culture of Tisbe holothuriae, based on the tray batch culture system described by Støttrup & Norsker (1997). Culture was carried out in 20l plastic trays stored in racks, lit by fluorescent lights and maintained at a temperature of approximately 20ºC.

This document summarises the main bycatch issues in tropical purse seine fisheries, with emphasis on FAD sets (including natural log sets, since the available data does not always allow for a separation of the two).

Ecosystem services, goods & benefits encompass the food, raw materials, clean air & water that nature provides. This review summarises our knowledge of the ecosystem services provided by commercially important shellfish such as molluscs & crustaceans.

The first aim of this project was to examine and gain a better understanding of the aggressive behaviour of the animals. Aggressive behaviour, causing injury or death, is thought to be a major obstacle in keeping animals in communal tanks. It was found that the Norway lobsters are able to build a dominance hierarchy, which reduces overall aggression in communal tanks. Moreover, it was found that pheromones are necessary for establishing dominance. Follow up studies will aim to gain a better understanding of the role of aggression in natural behaviour including territoriality,resource competition and mate choice. The second aim is to develop economic holding conditions for the animals. Holding animals in communal tanks is thought to be easier to manage - in terms of feeding and maintaining good water quality - than keeping them separately. Ongoing experiments comparing holding conditions indicate that there seems to be no difference in survival rate between individual and communal holding conditions. The third aim is to decide upon the best methods of collecting eggs and to hatch them. This will be researched in the next two years. Eggs will be collected by catching berried females. Holding conditions will be tested to maximize the hatching rate of the four larval stages in the lab. The results of the study will improve the understanding of the species which could help drive better stock management. In addition, it could support the fishing industry by providing sustainability and reducing the influence of natural barriers to fishing, such as weather conditions.

A social and economic impact assessment of cockle mortality in the Burry Inlet cockle fishery, south Wales UK.

Mortalities of larger, more valuable cockle 2 and 3 year-classes have recurred on the Burry Inlet (Loughour) Estuary (BI) since 2002 and on the nearby Three Rivers Estuary (TR) since 2005. The aim of this report is to estimate the economic impact of the mortality on the south Wales cockle industry, related businesses and wider Welsh economy. Stakeholder interviews, direct observation, secondary literature, production and price data supplied by industry and government agencies is used to characterise value-chains, historic livelihood, regulatory and production trends.

The project consisted of two studies on lipid quality and performance of cod broodstock (wild and farmed), eggs and larvae. Data suggested that arachadonic acid and carotenoid pigment concentrations in eggs from farmed fish may be sub-optimal. In trials where larvae were fed on enriched rotifers, the lipid profile of larvae reflected that of the live feed. Results of this and other studies indicate that relatively high DHA concentrations and DHA/EPA ratios, low EPA concentrations and EPA/ARA ratios and high ARA concentrations are advantageous.

Microplastics is the term for a wide range of particles made from manmade polymers with an upper size limit of 5 mm. This is an update of the previous information sheet FS 92_04_19 produced in April 2016 and includes key findings from recent research studies. It contains a gap analysis, from the seafood industry’s perspective, of knowledge concerned with the consequences of microplastic pollution of the marine environment.