Scientists and fishermen have been working together in Shetland, UK, to fill gaps in knowledge about the biology and ecology of several commercially important fish species.
The two-year project conducted by a team from the NAFC Marine Centre in Scalloway and local skippers has provided a wealth of information on ling, monkfish, lemon sole, plaice, hake and megrim in the northern North Sea.
Simon Collins, executive officer of the Shetland Fishermen’s Association, said: “By making regular observer trips on board local boats and requesting that fishermen return tagged fish, scientists have gained valuable knowledge about the biological health and distribution of these stocks.”
Data will now be made available to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) for stock benchmarking exercises and stock assessments in coming years.
Mr Collins added that the project has been particularly important for species like hake, whose population has exploded in the North Sea in recent times but for which quotas have been very low.
The results of the study results of the study indicated that quota restrictions were resulting in significant discarding of species, including hake.
He said: “When you have a mixed fishery as we do in the waters around Shetland it is plain to see that a low quota for an abundant species like hake is exhausted very quickly. The sooner the science catches up with what our members see on the fishing grounds day after day, the better.”
It is hoped that further funding will be forthcoming to continue the project, which was originally supported by the Scottish Government and then by the European Fisheries Fund.
