Environmentally friendly fishing methods & gear selectivity services
Our technology experts work with the sector to develop, test and monitor environmentally friendly fishing gear that minimises the bycatch of discards (unwanted or juvenile fish) and improve the slectivity of fishing gear. Our continual development of these new technologies helps address the EU’s long term management plans for fisheries and EU and Irish legislation on protected marine species.
Our work includes:
- Development and testing of a range of measures comprising an increase in cod-end mesh size, customised rigid sorting grids and square mesh cod-ends to improve Nephrops selectivity.
- Assessment of measures including a 300 mm square mesh panel, rigid sorting grids and the SELTRA panel to reduce unwanted fish catches from Nephrops trawls.
- Assessment of T90 mesh and other measures to improve selectivity of species such as whiting in mixed demersal whitefish fisheries.
- Read our reports on these issues at our-publications/fisheries/
Protected species monitoring and mitigation Service
In compliance with regulations that recognising the importance of preventing the accidental capture in fishing gear of endangered, threatened or protected species (cetaceans, seabirds, seals, elasmobranches etc), we implement observer programmes and encourage fishing vessels to adopt measures which reduce the likelihood of catching these species.
Learn about our work Monitoring Interactions between Irish Fisheries and Protected Species
Fuel efficiency services
Fuel is a major cost items that impacts on the profitability of fishing. Learn about fuel efficiency methods in our User Friendly Guide. (pdf 5,899Kb)
