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This report was produced by tourism specialists BTS, supported by fish industry experts Poseidon Consulting. It is a market based business plan, commissioned by the Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership (SLLP), with funding from the EU and the South East Area Fisheries Local Action Group (SEAFLAG), to provide economic benefit to the South East Area which includes the fishing ports at Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel. The analysis is designed to help develop the local market for locally caught seafood and local quality agricultural produce within Area. The project examines the opportunities for food tourism in the Strangford Lough and Mourne Mountains destinations, building on the concentration of the Northern Ireland fishing industry in the area, the quality of other local food produce and the number and the quality of local eating places across the area.

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.

The Shellfish Stakeholder Working Group (SSWG) commissioned Seafish to undertake a review of the application of the Official Control Regulations that apply to live bivalve production in EU Member States, with a focus on the microbial requirements.

South West Abalone Growers Association (SWAGA) aims to promote the sustainable development of abalone culture in the South West of the UK. In 2003 SWAGA undertook a FIFG Networking Project (FitzGerald 2003) to establish the limitations to the development of the industry of which legislative barriers were a significant feature.This legislative review has been produced as a guidance document for potential operators. Although it signposts the major legislative issues it is not exhaustive and prospective operators will need to establish site specific issues and requirements. It is also notable that there is considerable movement at present in a number of legislative areas and that any opinions provided in this report will be subject to change as interpretations evolve and regulations are updated.

he Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Seafish and the Northern Ireland (NI) Scallop Association have recently completed a report investigating the optimal areas for scallop reseeding in the Irish Sea. This work was commissioned due to an increase in exploitation of scallops around the NI coastline and a desire by industry to be proactive in enhancing long-term sustainability of stocks. Sites selected through industry engagement as proposed reseeding sites were examined by AFBI scientists to ensure that they met the characteristics required for successful settlement of scallops. Seabed habitat maps were combined to provide information for the full sea area under consideration. Scallop catches from the annual AFBI scallop survey were mapped with the full habitat map to determine the areas where scallops were present and identify the underlying habitat type. This allowed a map to be created which showed the suitable habitat for adult scallops within NI waters. All of the proposed reseeding sites fell within areas of suitable habitat. To examine further characteristics of the proposed sites, a combination of measured and modelled data was used. Salinity, food availability, bed stress (natural physical disturbance of the seabed by wave action and/or tidal currents), particulate inorganic matter, suspended particulate matter, abundance of predators, spawning season, larval dispersal and hydrodynamic models were all considered. The above information was presented to the project steering group, and using the data provided, the steering group selected the most suitable sites for reseeding from the original 13 proposed sites. Three reseeding sites (Whitehead, Drumfad Bay and South Bay) have initially been proposed, with a fourth, Roaring Rock, having potential for any future reseeding plans. The NI Scallop Association will now present the results of this work to DAERA to ask for regulation to assist in the protection of these new areas through a ban on mobile fishing gear.

This report considers the role that fishing and aquaculture play in maintaining and enhancing shellfish ecosystem services and delivering public goods and benefits. The relevance of this to future marine policy development is also considered.

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.

A report which analyses the economic contribution and value of the major aquaculture sub-sectors, and the most important farmed species in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.