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A lack of information on the precise location of a protected marine habitat or refuge for a protected marine species has caused considerable delays in environmental impact assessments and at worst led to applications to develop shellfish farms being refused or withdrawn as regulators are unable to decide whether the farm site and/or access arrangements will or will not have a potential impact on a protected wildlife site (Seafish 2006 & 2007).

A comprehensive guide to commercial fishing methods. This publication contains illustrations and descriptions of commonly used fishing methods, gears and rigs.

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 spreadsheet is an assessment of the ecological effects of commercial fishing in waters off Southwest England (ICES Divisions VII e,f,g & h).

Seafish has produced a combined response to two Scottish consultations on the future of the Scottish marine environment. The consultations were on the draft Marine Nature Conservation Strategy for Scotland and on draft guidelines on the selection of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and the development of the MPA network in the seas around Scotland. The original consultation papers can be found here: A Strategy for Marine Nature Conservation in Scotland: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/marine/marine-environment/Conservationstrategy/draftconstrategy Marine Protected Areas in the Seas around Scotland: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/marine/marine-environment/mpanetwork/draftmpaguide

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.

This report details work carried out on the design and installation of an engine performance test facility located at the Holman’s Test Mine, operated by the Camborne School of Mines (CSM), an academic department of the University of Exeter. The work was commissioned by the Sea Fish Industry Authority (SeaFISH) with the aim of developing a facility to permit the testing of biofuels such as biodiesel and biofuel blends in marine diesel engines. Engine performance test cells of this nature are generally configured to test various engines, whereas for this project, the engine needed to be a constant with the fuel being the variable.

This report reviews ecosystem risk assessment methods and describes in detail the method evolved in Australia by CSIRO.

This report summarises the results of experimental work carried out as part of “Design and Trials of Electrofishing System for Razorclams – FIFG 57437 and Seafish IPF funding project C85”. The aim of the project was to design and trial methods of harvesting Ensis spp. using electrical stimulus with the intention of providing a more environmentally benign alternative to existing hydraulic and toothed dredges. The results of this study demonstrate that the effects of electrofishing gear employing relatively low DC voltage and amperage can be effectively used in the harvest of Ensis spp. without serious negative effects on the epifaunal and macrofaunal benthic community.

The feasibility and costs of alternative fishing methods.

On 6th March 2008 representatives from SeaFISH and the University of Exeter met to discuss testing of fuel economy enhancement technologies at the CSM dynamometer test cell facility. These discussions resulted in an order for testing of various technologies to determine their effectiveness. The proposed technologies were varied in nature, ranging from the use of permanent and electromagnets installed on fuel lines to performance exhaust systems and engine lubricant conditioners. For each of these technologies, engine performance and fuel consumption tests were undertaken once without the technology deployed, then once with the technology installed. The results from the two tests were compared.