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Manual for developing and operating Seafish standard design for shellfish purification system: Large Scale Multi Layer System

The study covered fisheries from northwest Norway through the North Sea, English Channel/la Manche, Cantabrian Sea and Algarve to the French Mediterranean. It was carried out as a series of tasks. Task 1, preparation, involved reviewing each partner’s national fisheries and establishing liaison groups of fishermen and other industry members; Task 2, quantifying lost gear, required the partners to interview fishermen to establish their experiences of gear loss and then the survey the areas where losses were reported; Task 3, physical evolution, started with the retrieval of ‘naturally lost’ gears and then moved on to a series of exercises simulating gear loss and monitoring how the ‘lost’ gears changed over time; Task 4, ecosystem impacts, involved interpreting catch data from the experimental gears, raising the data to métier level and comparing the results to targeted commercial catches; Task 5, mitigating measures, established a sub-group to look at the ways in which gear loss is treated elsewhere, matched those approaches to the European fisheries and assessed the likely benefits of alternate strategies; Task 6, ran throughout the project and involved industry liaison, reporting and other dissemination. The work required a relatively high level of industry liaison. In practical terms this meant that each national partner set up a national advisory group (NAG) to guide the work and to ensure that the sea trials and recommendations were representative and realistic. The NAGs were mainly made up of experienced skippers but also included net riggers and other professionals as appropriate. This report, wherever possible, follows the sequence of tasks described above.

This report describes work carried out under contract to MAFF. It examines the implications of the impending ban on high seas drift netting on that sector of the Cornish fleet that is currently licensed to fish for albacore tuna. More specifically, it covers investigations in the UK, Ireland and northern Spain into alternative fishing methods, the potential for converting the vessels in question and some of the market aspects of these changes. It is concluded that conversion to the trolling system of towed lines is the most appropriate option for the Cornish vessels, that this conversion could be carried out at a realistic cost, that crews could adapt to the necessary changes quite readily and that market opportunities would be open to re-equipped vessels. Given the current volatility of the global market for albacore tuna it is not possible to predict whether the converted vessels would be commercially viable. Indications are that, in the long term, conditions in Europe could be favourable to vessels that converted to trolling.

The SIP project output examines opportunities for aquaculture in/around enclosed marine water bodies, as well as the development of a generic design for a shellfish hatchery - the proposed Tidal Lagoon in Swansea Bay (TLSB) case study is a significant focus

Guidelines based on outputs from a technical workshop organised by the UK Fisheries Economics Network.

This report is by Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management Ltd at the request of the Seafish Northern Ireland Advisory Committee (SNIAC) and was funded by Seafish.

During the autumn 2006 mackerel season a prototype selectivity grid was trialled on the Zephyr LK 394 and the crew reported that both the average size of mackerel increased and the by catch percentages of herring were reduced when compared to catches by its pair trawler Antares LK 419. Following these initial observations the fishers that were involved recognized the need for independent observation and analysis of results. This led to the current project being proposed and subsequently receiving funding through the Scottish Industry Science Partnership fund (SISP).

This report provides an assessment of the potential for open ocean, offshore finfish aquaculture in UK waters using candidate species which would have similar growth and performance characteristics to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and with due reference to other potential species candidates.

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.