An extension of Scotland''s hugely successful Real Time Closures (RTC) programme has been announced.
A 'seasonal closure' at the Long Hole in the Fladen grounds, located 100 miles north east of Fraserburgh, will come into force at the start of December as part of the Scottish Conservation Credits Scheme.
A seasonal closure is a closure that is automatically implemented for a specified period of time. For instance, to protect aggregations of cod during the spawning season. Coordinates of the closure have been agreed with industry.
A Real Time Closure is an area of sea that has been closed to mobile fishing for a fixed period of 21 days where an abundance of cod has been identified.
The proposal for a seasonal closure at the Long Hole in the Fladen is to implement a closure between December 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009 to protect significant aggregations of large cod that are found in this area. It covers an area of approximately 15 square miles with depths at its deepest points of up to 300 metres.
The closure will not be permanent and the closure dates are indicative. The area will be reopened after a sample haul has been undertaken by a commercial vessel observed either by Fisheries Research Services (FRS) or the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA). If the sample haul shows no or very little cod, then the reopening shall be instigated as planned. In the event that an aggregation of cod is found to be present, the closure will remain in place (for one month) at which time a repeat sample haul will be undertaken. An aggregation of cod for this purpose shall be in excess of (200 cod per hour). The haul will be approximately 2 to 2.5 hours in duration.
The observation of seasonal closures is voluntary under the Conservation Credits Scheme as a responsible management measure. Breach of the closure will attract the same penalty as a breach of an RTC closure - removal of benefits associated with the CCS. First, removal of option to operate on hours at sea and not days, second, the removal of additional days which by default means that the person is removed from the scheme and all associated benefits.
The Conservation Credits Scheme rewards fishermen with additional days at sea when they sign up to initiatives which have an appreciable impact on the conservation of fragile fish stocks. Measures under the scheme include the use of selective fishing gear as well as spatial avoidance measures such as the innovative Real Time Closures (RTC) programme, which protects cod where they aggregate in the North Sea.
