CEFAS6a64e418-0be4-45a0-9bf6-a17c9aa44cb0
English
dataset
Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science
Data Manager
+44 (0)1502 562244
Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory
Pakefield Road
Lowestoft
Suffolk
NR33 0HT
UK
data.manager@cefas.co.uk
pointOfContact
2017-05-18T14:36:41
MEDIN Discovery Metadata Standard
Version 2.3.7
urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326
OGP
2017 - 2017 Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas) Reduce Whiting By-Catch in the SW Trawl Squid & Cuttlefish Fishery 2016/17 - Fisheries Science Partnership
FSP Reduce Whiting By-Catch in the SW Trawl Squid & Cuttlefish Fishery
2017-05-18
publication
CEFAS6a64e418-0be4-45a0-9bf6-a17c9aa44cb0
http://www.cefas.co.uk/
Ten days of sea trials comprising 21 tows were successfully completed on board
the commercial fishing vessel *‘Sue Ellen’* (BM211) in Lyme Bay in January
2017 allowing comparison of the catches in a modified box trawl fitted with a
four-panel extension and cod end with those of a standard two-panel box trawl.
The aim of this study was to try and reduce the catch of unwanted whiting
without loss of squid or cuttlefish. The cuttlefish season had finished for
the inshore trawlers at the time of this study, so the emphasis was on
retaining squid.
Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science
Data Manager
+44 (0)1502 562244
Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory
Pakefield Road
Lowestoft
Suffolk
NR33 0HT
UK
data.manager@cefas.co.uk
originator
Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science
Data Manager
+44 (0)1502 562244
Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory
Pakefield Road
Lowestoft
Suffolk
NR33 0HT
UK
data.manager@cefas.co.uk
custodian
notPlanned
NDGO0005
Fish
Biota abundance, biomass and diversity
SeaDataNet P021 parameter discovery vocabulary
2011-03-25
revision
Species distribution
GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
2008-06-01
publication
Public data (Crown Copyright) - Open Government Licence Terms and Conditions apply
otherRestrictions
Public data (Crown Copyright) - Open Government Licence Terms and Conditions apply
English
biota
SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages
2010-05-18
revision
Water column
-10
0
47
51.5
2017-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
2017-01-24T00:00:00.000Z
http://data.cefas.co.uk/#/View/18556/order
dataset
The primary objective of this project was to develop trawl modifications that
reduce unwanted whiting catches while maintaining catches of commercial squid
and cuttlefish in the SW otter trawl fishery. The stocks of whiting in the
Western English Channel are believed to be in good condition but whiting is
the most likely choke species for vessels operating from some SW ports,
including Plymouth, Brixham and Looe. Many vessel operators, however, were not
overly aware of this because the main target species, such as lemon sole,
squid and cuttlefish, are non-quota. Whiting is a by-catch, landing prices for
which are below those received for other species, and quota uptake for 2015
and 2016 was only about 50%.
There are two well-known fisheries for squid in UK coastal waters – one off
Lundy Island and another in the Moray Firth. In contrast to these fisheries,
however, the squid fishery in Lyme Bay is highly mixed and requires a minimum
cod end mesh size of 80 mm stretched mesh. In addition, the strength,
distribution and seasonality of the squid fishery is quite unpredictable,
hence squid tends to be an important by-catch of the more reliable cuttlefish
and lemon sole fisheries. On board observations of catches during the autumn
fishery for cuttlefish and squid in Lyme Bay in the years 2013-15 indicate
that whiting accounted for up to 29% of catches by weight (Santos, 2016).
Undersize whiting made up only a small proportion (3%) of these, and were
discarded. Nearly a quarter, however, of fish larger than the minimum landing
size were discarded. Lemon sole is a very important catch component of the
inshore trawler fleet and considerable numbers were starting to show up on the
inner grounds of Lyme Bay as these gear trials got underway.