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The Annual Report provides a detailed Management Commentary and financial review of the activities undertaken by Seafish during 2008/2009 and information on future developments.

The new Seafish Corporate Plan for 2015-18 sets out our mission, vision and values for the next three years. The Plan includes the new High Level Objectives and strategic outcomes for Seafish, along with more detailed information about the Seafish work programmes which support them. The Plan has been developed in partnership with industry and key stakeholders and will be our key tool in communicating our delivery promise during 2015-2018.

Areas of potential alternative Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) sites representing mud habitat within the UK Irish Sea regional sea were selected at a stakeholder engagement meeting in October 2014. In order to assess the suitability of these sites within the Irish Sea regional area, existing data were examined to assess habitat condition, variation and how well these meet the mud habitat criteria set by the UK government. Nephrops stock assessment video surveys were utilised along with grab sample data, across both eastern and western Irish Sea areas. Macroinvertebrate community analysis was undertaken on the grab infaunal data, along with analysis of sediment parameters. The level of disturbance was also examined through benthic community assessment relating to successional stage.

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.

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

The Annual Report provides a detailed Management Commentary and financial review of the activities undertaken by Seafish during 2012/2013 and information on future developments.

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).

Manual for developing and operating Seafish standard design for shellfish purification system: Vertical Stack 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 document provides supporting information for an assessment of the ecological effects of commercial fishing in waters off Southwest England (ICES Divisions VII e,f,g & h).