Conserving Stocks and the Marine Environment

BIM is undertaking a considerable amount of work in the area of marine conservation to help fish farmers and fishermen work responsibly, in harmony with the environment.

BIM's CLAMS initiative is a unique 'Coordinated Local Aquaculture Management System' that has helped aquaculture companies to integrate their operations into the coastal zone and to work in cooperation with fishing and angling concerns on conservation issues. This has brought considerable benefits to all sectors, not least to the environment. Read about the work being done to coordinate local area management in the groundbreaking C.L.A.M.S project.

As farmed shellfish are not artificially fed or treated, they are reliant on their natural environment. If there are too many shellfish farms in a bay relative to the natural food supply, currents and mixing of the water column, growth may slow down. This is known as carrying capacity.

Under the UISCE project BIM are working with a team of international experts to determine the carrying capacity of a number of aquaculture areas in Ireland. Using the latest sampling and computer modeling methods they obtain in-depth knowledge of the optimal growing conditions to produce high quality seafood with minimal environmental impact.

In the fisheries sector, conservation work includes the use of Technical Measures to help fishermen be more selective about the species they catch and to prevent the capture of unwanted, undersized and spawning fish. The scheme includes:

• altering trawler design, such as the 'coverless trawl' design which allows unwanted species to escape at the mouth of the net before entering the body of the trawl;
  This measure has been particularly effective in reducing the capture of unwanted whitefish in the Prawn fisheries and will undergo further trials.
  
  
• net designs that allow fish to escape, such as the use of square nets or grids, separator panels, escape panels and release windows in nets, pots and creels;
  
  
• use of acoustic ‘pinger’ devices on fishing nets to deter marine mammals and avoid their capture;
  
  
• closing areas to certain types of fishing, either permanently or at particular times of year to protect stocks. This measure is used in the Northern Irish Sea to recover cod stocks;
  
  

The lobster V-notching programme ensures that female lobsters are returned to the sea to continue breeding. This is one of the most important conservation measures for the Irish lobster stock, Irish fishermen have been participating in this scheme for over 12 years and over 120,000 lobsters have been v-notched.

Because increased fishing can negate the potential benefits of conservation work, it is necessary to have a suite of management tools available to ensure responsible management of the fishery. These include the TAC and quota system which put limits on the amount of fish that can be caught in any one year.

The aim of all BIM’s work on conservation is to encourage healthy, productive and profitable aquaculture and fisheries industries that respect the natural surroundings. Read more about conservation issues in Aquaculture and work being undertaken to conserve stocks and reduce bycatch in fisheries.