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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.

The potential impact of wild Pacific oysters on local biodiversity is being raised as an issue that has to be considered in environmental assessments of both new farms and changes to practices by existing farms where they occur in wildlife protected areas. A FIFG-funded project has been carried out by Seafish which focuses on Pacific oyster cultivation in and around European Marine Sites. Working closely with industry and statutory nature conservation agencies, relevant background information was collated (Development of a Pacific oyster aquaculture protocol for the UK - Technical Reportand a protocol proposed (Development of a Pacific oyster aquaculture protocol for the UK - Protocol template. Where there could be an impact on protected wildlife and/or marine habitats, husbandry and management techniques have been proposed to mitigate or eliminate any potential impacts. The project complements the ‘Memorandum of Understanding for Appropriate Assessments in European Marine Sites’ that was agreed between the SAGB and Natural England.

The benefits of sustainable fisheries and the need to mitigate the environmental impacts of fishing and aquaculture are increasingly in the public consciousness. Poorly implemented, government run, command and control management schemes have often failed to curb fishing effort, prevent overfishing and avoid environmental degradation. Alternative, market based approaches have shown promise and, among these, enabling informed consumer choice in seafood purchasing can generate strong motivation for improved catching and culture practices.

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.

In late 2004, Defra tasked Seafish with carrying out a review of the options available for managing seafood waste, within the context of waste policy and legislation. This required a review of the types, quantities and origin of seafood waste, consideration of the timescale for industry to achieve compliance and an assessment of the measures required in the interim. This report provides an overview of the current situation and the options available for seafood waste management. It provides a strategic framework for the seafood industry to move from the current difficulties towards the overall strategic aims of reducing waste, minimising costs and maximising revenue. This is set within a 10 year timescale with prioritised short, medium and long-term objectives.

The information contained in this workbook is designed to help businesses or organisations who are looking at options for the management of crustacea waste. It covers all the main issues including quantities, legalities, composition, range of options and indicative costs etc. and should be looked at in conjunction with Seafish Report 593 on Crustacea processing waste management. The information was collated during 2007 and will be periodically updated. Anyone with any further information should contact Seafish - m_archer@seafish.co.uk

The 2016 Seafood Processing Industry Report presents accurate up-to-date economic data and commentary to serve, where appropriate, as an evidence base for business decisions, policy discussions, and further research. This report provides details on the structure and size of the industry such as regional distribution, size of firms, type of broad fish species processed, type of processing activity undertaken and financial performance.

Abalone naturally eat seaweed of which some less abundant species are preferred. In culture situations where seaweed sources are considered it will be necessary to demonstrate that operations are sustainable to ensure no significant impact on the marine ecosystem. Furthermore, when abalone culture is proposed in Special Areas of Conservation (SAC’s) a higher level of ‘Appropriate Assessment’ will be required. This report is a guidance document to help address some of these issues and present options for individual scheme consideration.

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.