Gap 2 Fishing News International feature June 2014

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July 2014 Issue 7 Volume 53 www.intrafish.com

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Scotland– page 28

SCALLOPS SUSTAINABLE AND PROFITABLE

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July 2014

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COVER STORY

Scallops – sustainable and profitable

One might be forgiven Quentin Bates for thinking that t’s only been a couple of years scallops are a fairly since French and English marginal fishery, but fishermen were last at loggerheads over the Channel think again. fishery as tensions Scallops are a oncescallop again boiled over. significant business, It’s encouraging to see both and Pecten maximus, sides, and policymakers and scientists, coming together to the species found in discuss the problems – their own the English Channel, and those common to both sides.

Daniel Lefevre, President of provides a living for a the Comité Régional des Pêches great many fishermen de Basse-Normandie, made the as well as going only opening comments as the Gap 2 part of the way to meeting on the Channel scallop opened in the UK port of meeting consumer fishery Brixham. demand.

French and British fishermen

I

were brought together to discuss their shared fishery, as well as

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Thousand tonnes – French scallop fishery

Thousand tonnes – French scallop consumption

DAYS: UK scallopers over 15m are subject to ‘days at sea’ restrictions ABOVE DELICACY: Scallops, straight on the griddle RIGHT BRIXHAM: The GAP2 meeting brought together fishermen, policymakers and others from both sides of the Channel

scientists, officials, managers fishery pursued by 600 boats history behind the French and Winter/Summer scalloping is traditionally a fishand others. and employing 2,000 fishermen. English scallop fisheries also has For British fishermen, scallops ery for smaller vessels through “Scallops are a ‘blockbuster’ The French market consumes some very marked differences, are a summer fishery, as well the winter. species in value, and as far as 120,000t of scallops, an indi- not least in terms of science and as being pursued by dedicated “We’ve to land live scallops, Europe is concerned, scallops cation that the French fleet management. larger scallopers that operate meaning trips are limited to are an orphan species,” Mr Lefe- alone is unable to meet domesIfremer scientist Eric Foucher under a ‘days at sea’ regime.

48hrs and the fleet consists of vre said, noting that with no tic demand, which is covered by said that they have scallop data One skipper said this inhibits smaller vessels fishing closer to quotas on scallops, the fishery extensive imports, including a going back 40 years, while a UK progress in searching out new the coast,” a French fisherman is in a unique position in Europe substantial portion from the UK. official admitted that their data grounds, as with the clock tick- explained. as everything else is governed goes back less than 10 years. ing, they have to fish close to Days at sea have been a sore strictly by TACs and quotas, Science shortfall “We don’t know if scallops are home. It also inhibits gear devel- point for many years, as France while much of the manage- During the Brixham meeting, being fished at a sustainable level, opment, as this means sacrificing is not short of days compared ment of the scallop business is the words ‘sustainable’ and ‘prof- but we can’t assume that it’s not fishing time to test new gear that to the UK. It’s a situation that achieved through the fisher- itable’ repeatedly popped up. sustainable,” said Jim Portus, may or may not give results. reportedly arose when managemen’s organisations.

All indications are that in chief executive of the South Andy McLeod, of scalloper ment was being formulated, Scallops are a serious business, spite of difficulties, the Chan- West Fish PO. His comment van Dijck from Brixham said and French authorities took a worth £300m annually to the nel fishery is already sustainable highlights the scientific short- that it’s not easy to find a skipper stance on declaring their fleet’s UK economy, making it Britain’s and profitable, but there remain fall, something the UK Scallop to run your boat for only eleven activity that was more sympasecond most valuable fishery and issues that need addressing to Association is concerned about or twelve days a month. thetic to its industry, while most important non-quota fish- ensure it stays that way. and which they have addressed “We’re fishing more locally. the UK government preferred ery, with landing valued at £67m.

Stock assessment is a prob- by funding a PhD student at With days at sea, other grounds to downplay scalloping activOn the French side, there’s lem, with different situations on Bangor University to study scal- are out of reach.” ity. The result has been that the a 35,000-tonne scallop each side of the Channel, and the lop abundance.

On the French side French fleet has plenty of room

16 to manoeuvre, while the UK has constant tension and the problem of making days last the year. Dimitri Rogoff commented that the future of the fishery is dependent on the resource itself, adding that the expanding fleet in the eastern Channel (Area VIIId) is the single biggest threat.

Jim Portus said that for the UK, the threats lie in days at sea limitations, as fishermen are tempted to switch to the lucrative scallop fishery.

Ifremer’s Eric Foucher pointed out that unlike UK scallop fishing, in France, this is a winter fishery that closes in May, as the scallops’ reproductive season starts and the boats tie up until October when the fishery starts and peaks at Christmas.

A striking aspect of the French side of the scallop fishery is that the French industry finances re-seeding of scallop areas.

“I don’t think the French have anything to learn from us,” said one English fisherman, adding that the French management structure, unity and science are “well ahead of ours”.

The Maine experience Dr Trisha de Graaf, from the Dept. of Marine Resources in Maine, provides a contrast with her account of the annual 70-day scallop fishery that pales into insignificance compared to the lobster business.

The fishery on Maine scallops, Placopecten magellanicus or giant sea scallop, that grows to 170mm, is worth $5m, while the lobster fishery is worth $365m.

“If something happens to the lobsters, we need to have something to fall back on,” Dr de Graaf said, adding that the scallop fishery in Maine waters had gone from ‘boom to bust’ for many years, with poor years explained by environmental factors, followed by good years that saw increased effort – consequently undoing the recovery. The low point was in 2005 when only 14t of scallops were landed.

A regime of spatial management has since been put into place with fishing zones rotated, and decisions on which zones to close and open taken with the industry’s involvement. The Maine approach mirrors the changes made in the US Federal scallop fishery, which went from a $76m fishery in 1998 to being worth $579m in 2011, making it the most valuable US fishery, and Trisha De Graaf said that effort restrictions, increases in ring size and rotational access, all contributed to doubling the size of scallop meat landed.

Changes in the Maine fishery, which now involves 400 active boats of 13m in length and more than 90% of the scallops landed are dredge-caught, although some are picked by divers.

“Prior to 2005 there was a 132-day season, a 4in minimum shell size, a 10’6” dredge limit and a 91kg daily landing limit.

“In 2008 we introduced logbooks, and in 2009 we reduced day numbers, shortening the season to 70 days from December to March, and we introduced a minimum 4in ring size,” she said. Conservation closures encompassing 20% of coastal waters became part of the package.

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July 2014

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FACT FILE ■ Scallops are worth £300 million annually to the UK economy overall ■ The fishery on Maine scallops (Placopecten magellanicus or giant sea scallop) is worth $5 million ■ The US Federal scallop fishery went from being worth $76 million in 1998 to being worth $579 million in 2011 “We re-opened the fishery in 2012 with limited access areas with a soft TAC that triggers an area’s closure when 30% of the biomass has been removed, and targeted closures under a 10-year rotational management plan. Each area had to have an available port so that there is something for every port as the areas are rotated,” she said, explaining that the areas are open for one year in three, and there are targeted closures of zones where there’s too high a volume of sub-legal scallops.

The results speak for themselves, with landings now at their highest since 1998 and the 2012-13 season the best in volume and value since mandatory reporting was implemented in 2008.

The Maine experience to an extent mirrors what happened in Shetland where, in the 1990s, the Shetland Fishermen’s Association set up a regulating order that allows third party organisations to manage an area, leading to the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation (SSMO).

One of the most controversial moves was to limit the fishery participant numbers and to investigate MSC certification, applying for velvet crab, brown crab, scallop and lobster fisheries – but each as a separate application to prevent one stalled application from delaying the others. Only the lobster application failed to go through.

Nick Prust, former fisherman and vessel owner, said he believed stocks were healthy. “We have a better relationship now with the French, which is a big positive point. We’re not frightened by the word ‘conservation,’ contrary to popular belief. But we see localised management as important and the biggest setbacks are closed areas, and the total misuse of MPAs and SACs that are being put through with no scientific evidence. That’s not conservation,” he said, alluding to the effects these closed areas have in displacing fishing effort to areas that subsequently see an increase in effort, as well as the safety factor.

“Whatever we do, it must have the scientific evidence to back it up,” he said. “ We have a closed area in Lyme Bay that went from 60 square

NOMADIC: A typical UK scallop boat that fishes different areas RIGHT MAINE: A Maine scallop boat fishing with a researcher on board to check the catch

miles to 110 square miles. This caused a lot of problems as there were some very lucrative areas there.”

“This is science that starts with the required conclusion and then evidence is cherry-picked to support that pre-selected conclusion,” one fisherman

commented on the Lyme Bay be sustainable in the long term, situation and this GAP2 project conferThe difference between Brit- ence has brought us together to ain and the Maine example is discuss a lot of different things. blanket bans compared to rotat- There’s been some dirty linen ing closures. Jim Portus said that aired between us. But we’ve it was essential that we (France mostly been learning about the and England) come to an accord good practices on both sides of for a management plan that will the Channel,” he said.

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Feature

TOP SCALLOPER: A larger French scalloper at the quayside MIDDLE BRIXHAM:: Delegates at the GAP2 meeting being shown how to age a scallop BOTTOM SCALLOPS: Scallop fishing in the US is worth $579million

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