Edition 129 / Spring 2018
The Quarterly Magazine of Fisheries Management
Fisheries Matter BREXIT
How Green is My BREXIT? Wildlife, Law and Brexit Angling for Bonefish Conservation in the South Pacific Realising Sustainable Fisheries – How Technology Can Help The Sea Angling Diary Project
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Book Review: Climate Change Impacts on Fisheries and Aquaculture. A Global Analysis
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Fish 129
Fish 129
Inside this edition 4
View from the Chair
8
How Green is My Brexit?
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Angling for Bonefish Conservation in the South Pacific
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Realising Sustainable Fisheries – How Technology Can Help
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The Sea Angling Diary Project
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Wildlife, Law and Brexit
Brexit, whether you like it or loathe it, will have a big impact on fisheries and the environment in general given that the EU has driven a wealth of environmental legislation and shaped fisheries and agricultural practices. Peter Spillett, IFM President, in his article ‘How Green is My Brexit?’ highlights how the Institute has been working with partners such as Wildlife and Countryside Link and the Environmental Policy Forum to influence the Brexit debate.
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The Paul Coulson BLOG
Moving to more tropical climes, Ben Cresswell,
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IFM News
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Breaking News
intrepid MSc student from the University of Essex, writes a really captivating article about fly fishing and conservation in the South Pacific.
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Book Review
Robert Clark, Chief Fisheries Officer for Southern
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Members and their fish
Editorial Team: Lawrence Talks, Steve Axford Ian Dolben, Peter Spillett, Valerie Holt Paul Coulson, Eamon Cusack
IFM ( Institute of Fisheries Management ) PO Box 679, Hull, HU5 9AX Tel: +44(0)845 388 7012
E-mail: info@ifm.org.uk. www.ifm.org.uk Find us on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter (@IFMFish)
Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) and IFM Council Member, discusses how technology is changing the face of fisheries management. No other group of animals is as difficult to manage as fish, but technology is providing solutions to the challenge of realising sustainable fisheries management.
Dr Adam Brown of Substance highlights how an
innovative project is catching the data on sea angling.
Finally, our Conservation Column reflects on Wildlife and Brexit and includes a quote from Sir
David Attenborough: “As we prepare to leave the European Union, I believe there is more urgency than ever to make our environmental laws ambitious and meaningful. Wildlife doesn’t respect the boundaries of human states, so once we leave the European Union it will be vital for us to continue to cooperate with other countries over matters such as fisheries and environmental standards.” If you would like to contribute to FISH please get in touch.
Front cover: Fishing for brown trout © Simon Cain Design: POLAR 10 www.polar10.com
Lawrence Talks - FISH editor fish@ifm.org.uk 3
View from the Chair
View from the Chair Brexit continues to dominate the news and will do for some time. It remains the greatest potential threat and opportunity for fish, fisheries and the environment in the foreseeable future. This edition of FISH considers how our exit from the EU might affect fisheries.
All of our position statements and responses to consultations are published on the IFM website in a web-page dedicated to Brexit. Of course, UK Government Cabinet Minister Michael Gove was a leading Brexiteer in the 2016 referendum. Love him or loathe him for his education reforms and his position on Brexit, he has put a lot of Our policy team and specialist sections have been personal energy into the 25 Year Environment working particularly hard to influence government Plan and he and his Department have been widely and respond to consultations over recent months applauded for the ambition set out in the plan. and I have attended two Westminster fora since Gove is the ‘biggest hitter’ to have occupied this January to help understand the proposals. This office for quite some time. It is the first time that unprecedented level of engagement is likely to any government has committed to ‘leave the continue for a while and the IFM is doing all it environment in a better state than it was found’ can to get a good deal for fish, fisheries and the and I believe the country would do well to enshrine environment. this commitment in legislation before the next 4
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(see: https://consult.defra.gov.uk/eu/ environmental-principles-and-governance/). Disappointingly it has overruled Michael Gove’s The Institute has already provided views to wishes on two issues:- firstly it refuses to Government on the 25 Year Environment Plan, enshrine the environmental principles in law; in particular, recommendations for measures and secondly the new oversight body will have and targets. That can be accessed from our no power to prosecute the Government as the website at: https://ifm.org.uk/wp-content/ European Commission currently has, for failure uploads/2018/03/IFM-25-year-plan-responseof environmental targets. So, it will, in practice, March-2018.pdf. My thanks to Chris Mills and the be ineffective and have no teeth. IFM is holding team who collated this for us. a workshop in June to develop our response to the consultation and we will be lobbying hard to Another key component of the 25 Year Environment Plan is a proposed new, independent ensure that the new body has the power to hold the Government to account for its environmental body, responsible to Government, to govern the principles and the 25 Year Environment Plan. environment. As this includes fish and fisheries, Our response will be published on our Policies it gives us an opportunity, with our collective web-page: https://ifm.org.uk/about-us/policies/. experience (which I am sure is greater than that of the Whitehall mandarins), to advise how best If you have any feedback for the Institute, with to structure a new environmental and fisheries what or how we can improve, do contact us. governance organisation. You are welcome to contact me at The Government has just released its consultation chairman@ifm.org.uk. on the proposed new body David Bunt | IFM Chairman cabinet re-shuffle and a new Secretary of State seeks to make their mark.
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How Green is My Brexit?
How Green is My Brexit? Peter Spillett, IFM President reflects on Brexit. Brexit! Boring, boring Brexit. Not another article about Brexit! Only about nine months to go, or if you count the transition period, possibly another two and a half years!
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How Green is My Brexit?
How Green is My Brexit?
Unfortunately, however, whatever your views are on Brexit, it will have a big impact on fisheries and the environment in general. There is a wealth of legislation on environmental issues that will be affected by our likely departure from the EU. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has already had to employ hundreds of extra staff in order to cope with the avalanche of new work. So, how to respond to the volume of environmental documents, consultation papers, select inquiries, draft White Papers and requests for information, all emanating from the Government? Many of the environmental NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) and professional institutes employ full time research staff to keep abreast of new legislation and to attend regular briefings in Westminster. For a relatively small body like the IFM with only two permanent staff, it’s more difficult. Not only that, fisheries management is a relatively small topic affected by many other activities such as pollution, abstraction, land use and agriculture.
Working in partnership The answer lies in partnership. Traditionally we have worked together with other fisheries type organisations, such as the Angling Trust, the Rivers Trust, the Wild Trout Trust, the Atlantic Salmon Trust and Salmon and Trout Conservation UK in order to comment or lobby on fisheries management related issues. We are also an associate member of the Wildlife and Countryside Link and its sub-group dealing with aquatic topics, Blueprint for Water. Wildlife and Countryside Link is an umbrella group of over 40 environmental bodies including heavyweights such as the RSPB, World Wide Fund for Nature and Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. This membership has allowed us to add our name and contribute to a much wider range of consultations than we might have otherwise been able to comment on. The IFM is also a constituent member of the Society for the Environment (SocEnv) which is a coalition of professional institutes and similar bodies. There is a small offshoot which we helped to set up, which consists of the more ‘green’ and reactive bodies, called the Environmental Policy Forum. At the risk 10
of acronym overload, I can tell you that the Environmental Policy Forum consists of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), the Institute of Environmental Sciences (IES), the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management (CIWM), the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), the British Ecological Society (BES), and the Landscape Institute (LI) as well as the IFM. People argue whether it’s more effective to send off consultation responses as a single body or as part of a larger group. The answer is to do both or tailor the action to the particular issue. Similarly, do you send your response to the Minister, to DEFRA, to a Committee, to the press? Again, it depends on the circumstances and these other institutes have plenty of experience in this field. It certainly does help, for example, when you can start your letter to a minister saying your organisation represents a collection of over 60,000 environmental professionals!
Responses from the IFM As a result of all this collaboration, the Institute has responded to several consultations over the past 12 months, either individually, or with support from partners or in support of the larger groupings of organisations. Some of the key documents include our position statement last summer on our views of fisheries management, post- Brexit, accompanied by a letter to the Secretary of State for the Environment, supported by the Environmental Policy Forum. The statement was put together by Miran Aprahamian, our Policy Director, and covered a wide range of topics, including both freshwater and marine fisheries management, the transfer of relevant EU legislation, changes in land use and agriculture, fish health, research and funding. This elicited a positive reply from George Eustice, the Fisheries Minister, which invited us to continue to contribute to the debate. We then supported the Environmental Policy Forum and Wildlife and Countryside Link over the EU Withdrawal Bill in its passage through the House of Commons (HoC). This is a
What happens next
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How Green is My Brexit?
How Green is My Brexit?
contentious issue in which the NGOs and many politicians are anxious to see no dilution and the transfer of all the safeguards built in to EU legislation successfully translated into UK law. Areas covered include environmental principles, governance, transparency and devolution. This was followed with a similar exercise to help brief MPs, ministers and their lordships for the much rougher passage of the Withdrawal Bill through the House of Lords. In the autumn we also submitted a response to the House of Commons Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs Committee Inquiry on Fisheries. Although primarily concerned with marine fisheries and the Common Fisheries Policy, in advance of a White Paper on UK Fisheries, the IFM’s submission covered several areas, including the need for a national fisheries policy, replacement of EU funding, fish health, sustainable stock management and the opportunity for new governance structures and a transparent fisheries management regime. Our response was supported by both the Environmental Policy Forum and Wildlife and Countryside Link and we, in turn, lent our support to other contributors. Steve Colclough, the Chairman of the Marine and Transitional Waters Specialist Section, along with his section colleagues, was responsible for the submission. I should add that Steve has also been very active representing the IFM on various political and DEFRA working parties looking at what might happen when we leave the Common Fisheries Policy.
number of possible measures or metrics which could be used to assess how successful the various plans and initiatives might be over the time period. The lead author for our submission was Council member Chris Mills and the response was published, in due course, by the Environmental Audit Committee. All the above mentioned responses and statements, as well as other submissions, can be found on the IFM website. At present the Institute is looking at governance issues. The need for a new, independent oversight body to replace the equivalent structures in the EU was highlighted in the 25 Year Plan. It is thought that Michael Gove will be consulting on the shape and powers of such a body shortly. This raises questions of funding, resources, enforcement, legal powers, devolved bodies, accountability and so on. Its scope and reach will have a significant impact on environmental regulation in the future.
What happens next?
So, after all this work, where are we now? Environmental legislation, as outlined above, is slowly trundling its way through various procedural hoops. The 25 Year Plan sounds quite ambitious but it’s short on detail, funding and targets. Concepts of ‘natural capital’ and ‘environmental gain’ are yet to be worked through. As far as the NGOs are concerned, the jury is still out on Gove and the Government’s intentions. White Papers are due on Agriculture and on Fisheries but the timing is uncertain. Common Earlier this year the Fisheries Policy issues are on hold Government published its much anticipated 25 because the existing arrangements will continue year Environment Plan, which was featured in for the whole of the transition period. Brexiteers the last edition of FISH magazine (no.128). The looking to ‘take back control’ of marine fisheries Institute responded by supporting the ambition are likely to be disappointed. The significance and general thrust of the document whilst making of the amount of UK quotas in foreign hands a number of specific points about sustainable and the need to trade in Europe are likely to land use, incentivising payments for farmers, dominate future negotiations. soil health, environmental flow constraints, There appears to be little or no recognition the economic value of fisheries and the need of the economic and community worth of to adopt an ecosystem approach to fisheries recreational fisheries. Freshwater fisheries don’t management. In particular we suggested a 12
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How Green is My Brexit?
really appear per se in the 25 Year Plan and the various aspects we are concerned about are split over various sections. One possible area for optimism, however, is farming. Gove has clearly set out a strategy for moving from legacy-based subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy to incentivising payments to farmers for environmental and social benefits - ‘public money for public goods’. This looks like being the only area of Government expenditure where money would be available for environmental improvement, as some £3 billion is currently being given away as subsidies to UK farmers. Gove is enthusiastic about the prospects although the timescale for any changes to the system has been extended to four years.
New report launch A key area within agriculture is soil health, as soil quality declines and thousands of tonnes are washed away into our rivers. We have pointed out the importance of this problem in our various submissions. With this in mind the IFM attended the House of Commons in April to support
the launch of a new report entitled ‘Saving the earth’. This is a joint report by the World Wide Fund for Nature in partnership with the Angling Trust and the Rivers Trust. The report sets out a possible framework which would deliver effective governance for soil and water; firm but fair regulation with credible enforcement; impartial, expert farm advice; and targeted incentives for land use change. All these changes would require a paradigm shift from government on their views on soil and water. The launch was well attended, with contributions by the Minister, George Eustice, Sue Hayman, the Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment and Mary Creagh, the Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee. Hopefully some of the initiatives in the report will appear in the forthcoming White Paper on Agriculture. If you haven’t seen the IFM’s submissions on Brexit I would recommend you look them up on the Institute’s website https://ifm.org.uk/aboutus/policies/. These are important issues which affect us all. If you have strong views on any particular topic please send them into the Editor or directly to Miran Aprahamian.
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Angling for Bonefish Conservation
Angling for Bonefish Conservation in the South Pacific
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Angling for Bonefish Conservation
Ben Cresswell, intrepid MSc student from the University of Essex, writes a really captivating article about fly fishing and conservation in the South Pacific. About 400km east of Tahiti, lies the French Polynesian atoll of Anaa. It is a member of the Tuamotu Archipelago, the island chain famous for receiving the crew of the Kontiki at the end of their epic trans-Pacific voyage, and hosts a population of just 500 people, located in a single village in the island’s northeast shoulder. The author visited the atoll in mid-2017, staying with a local family and working with a natal ecotourism joint venture established on Anaa in 2016. Now in its second year, the project was initiated by UK-based fly-fishing travel agency Fly Odyssey (www.flyodyssey.co.uk), in partnership with a new organisation, The Island Initiative, established to support sustainable livelihoods in remote Polynesian islands. The fishery of interest is that of the Pacific round jaw bonefish, Albula glossodonta, a highly prized game fish and a staple food source for the local population. It is also assessed as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List and the project supports two main efforts in relation to this species. The first is the establishment of a fly-fishing tourism operation. A single guesthouse is used to accommodate visiting anglers who are drawn to the island by the lure of wild fish, unfamiliar with the modern fly. Bonefish are found in abundance in the atoll’s crystal-clear lagoon, as are other large game species such as giant trevally (Caranx ignoblis) and Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus). Angling-tourism has long been on the rise throughout the tropics, with well-established destinations for bonefish found throughout the Caribbean and Indian Ocean; however similar developments in the Pacific have been limited. The second project aim is the collection and analysis of ecological and fisheries data, with A. glossodonta being the main study species. This second aim is funded, in part, by the first and a resident, fisheries scientist Alex Filous, who has been present since early 2016 18
investigating bonefish ecology. Data collected include otolith annuli counts for growth-function calculation, gonadosomatic indices and most recently acoustic-tagging data which should provide valuable information on migratory and spawning patterns. In common with other Pacific Island Countries and Territories, the people of Anaa are largely reliant on local natural resources for livelihoods and for food. Traditional methods are still practised, with some of the most effective being stone traps used to target migrating fish in the channels that link the island’s lagoon with the outer reef, but modern techniques and equipment are also used. A key conservation concern is the increase in fishing intensity combined with a loss of traditional ecological knowledge. Historically, communities like Anaa developed various environmental management practices based on accumulated knowledge of local ecology. These were broadly effective and, combined with technologically limited fishing practices, enabled Polynesian islands to effectively manage their marine resources for much of history. Modern fishers have access to modern technologies, greatly increasing yields. An example is the “improvement” of the stone traps using chicken-wire fences, allowing a much higher proportion of migrating fish to be harvested. Assessing just what percentage of migrating stock is captured is of key interest to the project team and may prove pivotal in ensuring that catches remain sustainable into the future. A collapse in bonefish fishery would be devastating for the residents of Anaa and would likely lead to increased burden on other species, with reef assemblages being a probable target of refocused effort.
Angling for Bonefish Conservation
Such vulnerability within fisheries is a common theme across many Pacific Island Countries and Territories, and recent work suggests that the majority of well-managed Pacific Island Countries and Territories’ fisheries will fall short of maintaining required fish stocks by as early as 2030. A study from nearby Kiritimati Island suggests several drivers of this. First is the remarkably high-level of reliance on fishing in such communities. For connected coastal regions, diversification in terms of food and income is often a viable option. Such diversification is not an option for Pacific Island Countries and Territories, populations, which have limited alternatives in terms of nutrition and employment. Second is the ubiquitous “shifting baseline” effect, resulting in an artificially positive appraisal of fishery health. This phenomenon may not have a direct impact, but may inhibit the necessary feedback to motivate the fishing population to manage their resource. Third, upon questioning about responses to a hypothetical 50% decrease in catch yield, a majority of fishers stated that they would
increase catch effort to compensate. This represents an education problem coupled with a “tragedy of the commons” scenario. All of these factors are present in Anaa. No single initiative can provide a solution to these problems. Nonetheless, the introduction of fly-fishing tourism represents an opportunity to start. If successful, benefits could include: 1) Increased revenue and occupational diversification: the project has already increased employment, and economic benefits should cascade through the community as local food suppliers, traders and other services industries see a portion of increased revenue. 2) Stocks of bonefish conserved for the future: increased employment and an association of the fishery with high-value activities, such as angling tourism, should lead to a reduction in extractive fishing levels as people see the benefits of conservation. 3) An increase in general environmental awareness and education: introducing the population, and in particular the youth, to environmental science and fisheries 19
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Angling for Bonefish Conservation
Angling for Bonefish Conservation
The tagging team preparing equipment ahead of acoustic tag insertion
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Angling for Bonefish Conservation
The tag team at work recording data
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Angling for Bonefish Conservation
Angling for Bonefish Conservation
management should help to normalise these practices and instil an interest in broader marine ecology. 4) Contributions to fisheries science: the project has potential to yield novel findings on a range of tropical fish ecology, with applications across the region and beyond. The latest development is the deployment of an acoustic receiver array, used to track local migration routes for tagged fish, a significant research achievement on such a small and remote atoll. Clearly, if these outcomes materialise it will be a great success for the project and the community of Anaa. The project is not without risks however: a substantial drive towards bonefish conservation may result in fishers switching focus to other species, including reef herbivores and others, almost certainly having far-reaching ecological impacts. The need for a broader conservation context is obvious. Anaa is a small community for which the local ecosystem should prove sufficient for food and livelihoods, as has been the case for centuries. However, filling the “vacuum� created by the disappearance of traditional ecological knowledge requires careful implementation of appropriate management measures, particularly in the context of the broad range of challenges facing them. The introduction of positive fisheries management as a result of fly-angling is a step in the right direction for Anaa; island locations like this desperately require modern management of their marine resources following the loss of traditional ecological knowledge. If this need is met, the future of this initiative and conservation in Anaa in general should be bright.
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School of bonefish caught in chicken wire part of a traditional trap – catch yields may be up to 100% of a migrating school
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Angling for Bonefish Conservation
Realising Sustainable Fisheries
Realising Sustainable Fisheries – How Technology Can Help
Robert Clark, Chief Fisheries Officer for Southern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) and IFM Council Member, discusses how technology is changing the face of fisheries management.
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Realising Sustainable Fisheries
No other group of animals is as difficult to manage as fish, but technology is providing solutions to the challenge of realising sustainable fisheries management. Novel technology, at the frontier of science, is assisting fisheries managers to address the many issues they face: from the use of DNA in supporting the development of stock assessments to satellites combating illegal fishing.
understand bio-complexity. In the near future, fisheries scientists hope to be able to integrate evolutionary principles with fisheries management and assess the potential effects of fishing or climate change on the resilience of fish stocks.
The advent of sonar and positioning systems, technology adapted from military use, marked a significant turning point in the race to fish. Fish shoals and fishing marks, which were previously known through traditional methods, The size of the (fish) cake. have become more readily available to the The Food and Agricultural Organisation estimate fishing industry; increasing efficiency and contributing to a decline in many fish stocks. that globally, some 91-93 million tonnes of fish These technologies, though, can also be used are captured each year, and seafood products by scientists and managers to map stocks and are among the world’s most widely traded food commodities, with an export value of $142 billion fish habitats and support fisheries management decision-making. Multi-beam sonar can provide in 2016. Fish is the means of subsistence for intricate three-dimensional maps; enabling billions of people around the world. managers to map ‘essential fish habitat’ (such In 2014 the EU’s fishing fleet generated 7.2 billion as areas important for fish reproduction) and Euros and the livelihoods of many EU citizens the identification of sensitive marine areas depend on the sea and its resources. There are where fishing could damage precious habitats. 100,000 vessels registered in the EU and their Increasingly Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, combined catch per year is estimated at 6.4 unmanned submarines, are being deployed to million tonnes of fish. Around 80 percent of this gather this type of data and to routinely map capture is wild caught and the remainder from areas of seabed. aquaculture.
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”
Small fish in a big pond
Differing species of fish exhibit complex life histories. Advances in technology are now Fish and shellfish are hidden from view, but enabling us to answer some of the most illusive understanding what harvest is sustainable questions in fisheries management, including requires an estimation of the abundance of fish. where do fish go? Many fish migrate, some Unlike terrestrial wildlife, fishery managers cannot across oceans, and some, such as salmon and look into the ocean and count the fish they see. sea trout, across both fresh and salt water. Instead, they must try to estimate the size of fish In order to sustainably manage fish stocks stocks as accurately as possible based on and protect them at vulnerable periods of their sub-samples of the population. lifecycle, we must know where they go. Here ‘high-throughput’, also known as next Traditionally using techniques with their origins generation DNA sequencing, is providing in the management of whaling, fisheries answers. The technique allows us to sequence management has been largely focused on single DNA and RNA much more quickly and cheaply species stock assessments, however with the than previously, which is transforming genomics increased computing power now readily available, and molecular biology. Research is now being stock assessments are moving to ‘ecosystem conducted on where fish live based on DNA in assessments’. These ecosystem assessments the water. As fish move through the water they take into account the interconnectedness of the shed cells (scales, slime etc.). By measuring fish’s food webs and the influences of factors the presence and diversity of cells in the water, such as weather. In this regard molecular it is possible to detect the presence or passage biology, the detection of adaptive diversity (outlier of animals. Whereas before fisheries managers loci), provides an unprecedented opportunity to relied on costly research vessels using modified 27
Realising Sustainable Fisheries
commercial fishing techniques, new approaches to the use of ‘environmental DNA’ are providing rapid and affordable techniques to understand whether and in what abundance fish have been in the water column. Individual fish are also being tracked to provide insights into their migration and movements. Spatial pictures of fish migrations were previously based on models from incidences of capture, which left large gaps in our knowledge of many species. However, since the development of pop-up satellite archival tag (PSAT) technology (tags inserted or attached to fish) it is possible to acquire real migration data, which is revolutionising investigations into the a much better understanding of the distribution distribution of migratory species. of fishing activity. This is particularly helpful in ensuring that certain habitats, particularly in marine protected areas are not damaged. The race for space As well as assisting in where fish live and move from and to, technology is aiding in mapping and monitoring fishing activity. Monitoring where, when and how fishing fleets are operating has traditionally relied upon self-reporting and fisheries monitoring using ships, aerial assets and port inspection. But ‘over the horizon’ monitoring of fishing vessels is costly and difficult. Today satellites are now routinely used to aid the monitoring of fishing activity. In Europe, all vessels over 12 metres in length are required to operate a Vessel Monitoring System. These systems send the location, speed and direction of the fishing vessel via satellite directly to control authorities. The technology is also available to the (smaller) inshore fleets, which operate closer to land, utilising the mobile phone network. This use of technology greatly reduces compliance costs and provides managers with 28
The NASA-NOAA Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) can detect lit fishing boats at night and this technology is being used to detect fishing in the further reaches of our oceans, in areas far from routine monitoring and often outside state fisheries controls.
What’s the catch? In addition to the target species other marine fish and animals may be caught; if discarded this practice is wasteful and if protected species are caught it can threaten conservation efforts. Traditionally fisheries observers would be deployed to monitor activities, but the cost and the conditions mean that only limited observations can be made. With the event of low cost high quality camera and data storage
What’s in a label? Fish is big business and the supply chain complicated and within this environment there exists the potential for fraud. In 2010, one EU study found that in up to 40% of cases, the fish consumers thought they were buying was mislabelled and the fish had been substituted with another species. The incentives to do so are varied, but often cheaper fish are used and labelled to command a higher price. Since the 2010 study, subsequent research has revealed that the incidence of mislabelling may have reduced as a consequence of the ability to check the provenance of fish using DNA and RNA sequencing. In addition, increased global and EU requirements to label fish from ‘net to plate’, means that consumers and buyers are scrutinising traceability so that they can make informed choices as to the fish they buy. This is providing an incentive for environmentally sensitive fisheries, which can command a premium price. The ‘marine stewardship council’ food labelling is now a globally recognised certification, which enables consumers to make choices about the fish they eat.
Realising Sustainable Fisheries
devices, nets and fishing operations can be monitored to provide an accurate estimate of the bycatch. The vast data generated through such systems can be analysed with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence; with computers ‘trained’ to seek certain patterns in the catches. This data can then inform management of fishing gear design or fish allocation in certain areas so as to minimise unwanted bycatch and protect the environment.
Blue growth In Europe an increasing number of fish stocks are managed in a sustainable manner. Currently however, despite significant improvements, more than 40% of fish stocks in the North Sea – the most productive sea in Europe – are overfished. The situation is much worse and the challenges greater in the Mediterranean Sea. The opportunities to improve both the economic and environment outcomes of sustainably managed fish stocks are significant and scientists estimate that if managed sustainably, stocks could produce an additional 1.45m tonnes of fish a year within the next 10 years. To achieve this the further adoption and development of technology is essential. Fish stocks are the World’s largest wild animal food resource and carefully managed, they can continue to provide jobs and food, within environmental limits. Further access to, investment in and integration of technology into the fisheries management sector provides an opportunity to realise sustainable fisheries and ‘blue growth’.
Fisheries in a changing climate Global sea temperatures have risen over recent decades and it has been widely-documented that this is causing a northward shift in the range of various fish species. At the heart of this, are changing environmental conditions affecting the distribution of algae and plankton, which are at the base of many fishes’ food chains. To understand these changes, broad-spectrum satellites are being used by scientists to monitor the situation. As global conditions change and fish stocks respond, fisheries management will need to adapt and technological tools are at the forefront of meeting these future challenges. 29
The Sea Angling Diary Project
The Sea Angling Diary Project Dr Adam Brown of Substance highlights how an innovative project is catching the data on sea angling. The Sea Angling Diary project has been running since 2015 to record catches, participation and spending by recreational sea anglers. Utilising a bespoke online diary tool, it now engages c.1,500 anglers across the UK. The project was set up to help the UK Government and devolved administrations monitor the impact of recreational sea angling on some fish stocks for the European Commission. The obligation to do this comes under the Common Fisheries Policy, which requires national governments to report the volume of catches of certain species by recreational anglers. The species concerned are Atlantic sea bass, cod, pollack, sharks, skates and rays, eels and salmon. However, the Sea Angling Diary project collects information about all species, as well as additional information about angler spending and participation patterns. This is in recognition that it is a popular and high value activity in 30
the UK, with catches of some species being significant. Data are also used to help assess the status of fish stocks and to determine the impact of recreational angling, The Sea Angling research programme was instigated in the UK in 2015, and is run by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas - www.cefas.co.uk) in collaboration with social research company Substance (www.substance.net). The project is funded by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in England (Defra) and by the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Approach The Sea Angling Diary Study adopted a three-stage approach. The first stage is an annual, nation-wide household survey to estimate the total
The Sea Angling Diary Project
other outlets; face to face recruitment at various points around the UK coast and at angling events; and advertising in angling press and with angling commercial partners. Substance has partnerships with Fishing Megastore (one of the largest angling retailers) and Sea Angler magazine which offer incentives for people to take part.
number of people who went sea fishing in the preceding 12 months. This is done as part of the National Watersports Survey which uses a randomised survey approach interviewing around 12,000 people across the UK. The Survey is undertaken in collaboration with the Royal Yachting Association, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and British Canoeing. Data from the Survey is used to re-weight and raise up data collected from the diary panel.
The third element of the study is the online diary tool itself. This has been developed in-house by Substance and provides a secure means for anglers to keep an electronic record of their angling sessions - including location, duration, platform, gear and method - as well as their catches - recording species, length, numbers kept and released. The diary also provides anglers with a dashboard and map of their activity and ‘live’ as well as annual summaries of sessions and catches. Periodic spending surveys are also conducted through the diary. Each diarist receives a ‘diary pack’ with log in details, fish identification and measurement booklet, waterproof notebook and tape measure.
Recruitment
In 2016 c.500 diarists took part and this has risen to 950 in 2017 and c.1,400 in 2018. Analysis of the profile of anglers (avidity, age, location etc.) against the known population The second element is the recruitment of sea profile from the National Watersports Survey, anglers to join the study. Sea anglers are invited suggests that the diary panel has an older and to fill in a short survey, which also asks them if more avid profile than the population in general. they are prepared to be part of the diary panel. Various recruitment methods are employed: Adjustments to recruitment methods have in contact with anglers on Substance’s database part started to address this. of people who have undertaken previous Although requests are made to complete surveys; ‘broadcast’ methods of recruitment information each month, some diarists do not through distribution of electronic and print do this and a series of email and telephone material to angling organisations and clubs, reminders are undertaken, along with monthly tackle shops and retailers, charter boats and prize draws, to maximise data completion. 31
The Sea Angling Diary Project
Analysis and results An important issue for survey design was the potential for bias in the catch estimates if the diary panel was not fully representative of the UK population of recreational sea fishers due to the self-selection method adopted.
Initial analysis of 2016 suggested that: • 1.7% of the adult population of the UK, almost 875,000 people, went sea angling – fishing with a rod and line in the sea - at least once in 2016.
To correct for this as far as possible, panel • In total, they fished for over 7 million days, an members were divided into groups (‘strata’) average of 8 days per person. based on avidity, platform and region. The average annual catch of each species per fisher, • The highest numbers of fish caught were mackerel and whiting. calculated from the diary panel, was multiplied by the total number of fishers estimated from • In total, 63 million fish were caught of 43 the household survey to obtain the total annual species, totalling 38,293 tonnes. catch for all fishers in the country. Lengths of • Release rates for bass were very high at fish caught (kept and released) were converted 97% - possibly due to new bass to weights and attribution was made where fish length was not known by using average weights management measures. for those fish (stratified by kept and returned). For these estimates, the standard errors are This means that data from the diary panel were large for the 2016 surveys, which means that the true value of catches may be much smaller made more representative of the nationwide population of recreational fishers, although some or larger than the estimates given. As the diary study continues, and more people take large margins of error remain. part, these errors should reduce, giving more Results are still being ratified ahead of accurate estimates in the future. publication, with results from both 2016 and 2017 due to be released in early summer 2018. 32
The Sea Angling Diary Project
Please help! Everyone who goes fishing in the sea is encouraged to take part in the study – whether they fish once or twice a year in the sea, or very regularly. Please go to www.seaangling.org and forward this address to anyone who may be interested. For more information, materials or a demo of the dairy tool, contact adam.brown@substance.net
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Wildlife and Brexit
Wildlife and Brexit By Valerie Holt, IFM Council Member
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Wildlife and Brexit
There is obvious concern amongst wildlife charities that the current legislation protecting the UK’s wildlife will be less effective after Brexit. It is already felt that current environmental legislation is not strong enough. Most of the laws that protect our wildlife and environment are tied to our membership of the European Union. This includes our strongest protection for special wildlife sites and effective regulations on pollution of our seas and rivers. So leaving the European Union could have far-reaching implications for our wildlife and the positive impacts a healthy natural environment has on our lives. The British love their wildlife and we should ensure that we retain the environmental protection that the EU has provided, but to go further and improve it. In a recent YouGov poll, 80% of people said they think the UK should have the same or stronger environmental protection after it leaves the EU. The UK has one of the largest and most effective environmental charity sectors in the world, and a new coalition of charities – Greener UK - has been formed to work together for wildlife, post-Brexit. The Wildlife Trusts are a part of this, together with RSPB, National Trust, WWF, Woodland Trust, Friends of the Earth, Campaign to Protect Rural England, Greenpeace and others. In the UK we deserve a world-class environment: clean air, clear water, a stable climate, healthy seas and thriving wildlife; and Brexit could be the way to achieve this. A big aspect of ensuring a more diverse countryside relates to agricultural and planning practices and the government has recently released two documents for consultation :‘Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit’ and the ‘National Planning Policy Framework’ The Framework will replace the one introduced in 2012 and aims to increase the number of homes to be built, but this will generally mean less stringent planning rules. 36
As we prepare to leave the European Union, I believe there is more urgency than ever to make our environmental laws ambitious and meaningful. Wildlife doesn’t respect the boundaries of human states, so once we leave the European Union it will be vital for us to continue to cooperate with other countries over matters such as fisheries and environmental standards. - Sir David Attenborough
About 36 square miles of land are used each year by new developments and, in order to achieve a net biodiversity gain, there should be strong planning practices. Recent concerns raised the issue of Local Wildlife Sites losing their protection under planning. However, a concerted effort by the conservation bodies has seen this reversed. This is good news as the only protection for
One suggestion to assist would be to require all new development to contribute to a national ‘Nature Recovery Network’ through local planning strategies. Some opportunity mapping of habitats has been carried out already by some local authorities and these will contribute to a national overview of the state of nature. The consultation paper on agriculture is far reaching and looks at the whole future of farm and stewardship payments and life after Local Wildlife Sites. Direct payment to farmers will be cut and the money re-distributed to give a more self-reliant industry and give a better and richer environment in England. It will look to incentivise methods of farming to create new habitats for wildlife and increase biodiversity. What is required is support and reward for farmers who provide :- bigger and better natural habitats, healthy soils, clean water, clean air, flood risk management, climate change mitigation, thriving wildlife and abundant pollinators and access to nature to improve health for people. These can be brought about by changing the culture of regulation, better use of technology and a system that supports public benefits and environmental outcomes for the whole of society.
Wildlife and Brexit
Local Wildlife Sites is through the planning system. The government’s 25 year plan aims to deliver a net gain for biodiversity and protection and retention of such sites will assist this aim.
Another consultation relates to the proposed new environment body. This will be required to enforce environmental laws when we leave the EU. This new body will be independent from government and will not replace Natural England or the Environment Agency, which are ‘arm’s length bodies’ of Defra. However there has already been disquiet about the new body from Greener Uk, who say it will lack the power to take legal action underpinned by the ‘polluter pays’ principles. These are important times of change and to ensure we reverse the decline in the natural environment we need strong legislation to aid farmers and land owners to manage our countryside in a more sustainable manner. The Nature Recovery Maps proposed by the conservation bodies should be at the foundation of future planning and farming policy. A new Environment Act must have the power to support government targets for wildlife’s recovery.
Greener UK are calling for a world leading Environment Act that would restore wildlife and wild places, recognise the value of nature, map and create national networks of wildlife corridors and create access for people. Our countryside and seas need to be healthy to deliver multiple benefits for society, not only for food, but for fair financial support for farmers and land managers to improve the countryside for people and wildlife. Our seas also need to support a healthy, sustainable fishing industry. Of course, many farmers and land owners have been improving the wildlife habitat on their land using the present stewardship schemes, but it is not enough and the decline is continuing at an alarming rate.
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The Paul Coulson BLOG
The Paul Coulson
BLOG
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The Paul Coulson BLOG
Predation Workshop in April. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend as we also have an electric The first half of 2018 has been pretty busy with fishing course on at the same time but Dan workshops, events, training and conference Hulme kindly stepped in on our behalf. Dan gave planning. As mentioned in my last blog, we have a presentation on the management of piscivorous been delivering fishery management workshops fish which followed talks on otters and on behalf of the Environment Agency and to cormorants. The talks were positively received date we have covered six regions. These events by the 80 delegates in attendance and they all have proven very popular and we have had close went away with a wealth of information on how to to 150 people in attendance from 100+ clubs, better manage predation on their waters. associations and fisheries. The total number of waters that are managed by these groups is The highlight of the training calendar so far this considerable and they have several thousand year has been the IFM Certificate Field Course members between them. Feedback has been Weekend. 16 hardy students attended on what very positive, with a number of groups contacting was the coldest weekend of the year (great us to say that they have already implemented planning on our part), for a weekend of talks and some of the ideas discussed at the workshops practicals. The -10°C wind chill and driving snow and that they hope to do more in the near future. didn’t hold them back as they undertook a stock take on a nearby fish farm on the Saturday. Pete I am pleased to say that we will be running Turner and Emma Keenan ‘bravely’ volunteered another series of these workshops starting in to help Ian Wellby out with this, whilst Iain and I October. Keep an eye out for the dates and undertook a less extreme fish biology and water locations if you are interested in attending. quality practical in the warmth of the village hall. The constant tea and biscuits made for a very Iain and I have also attended the Angling Trust comfortable afternoon for Iain and I, not so many Fishery Improvement Workshops over the past few months. These have been very popular and biscuits for the rest of the team, unfortunately! useful workshops for angling clubs and fisheries. I was very pleased to be asked to give a talk I am pleased to say they will be running more of at the Environment Agency Fisheries Technical these this year starting in July so keep an eye Workshop in early May. My talk was based open on the Angling Trust website and social on the IFM Award Course that we deliver for media for further details. Environment Agency staff and I was ably assisted by my glamorous assistant Jonathan Baxter Away from the workshops, we attended the North West Angling Show at the end of February. who is currently doing the course. It was a really enjoyable couple of days with a number of Mike Lee and I were in Information Corner with colleagues from the Environment Agency, Centre interesting talks by Environment Agency fisheries staff, which showcased the range of projects they for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), the Canal & River Trust and the are involved with around the country. Angling Trust. We had a busy couple of days We had a brilliant day at Nunnington Hall on the and spoke to a good number of interested folk banks of the River Rye in North Yorkshire as part about our work and training courses. The event of the World Fish Migration Day celebrations. was incredibly popular with over 10,000 people We worked on this event with the team from the attending over the weekend. The queue to get Ryevitalise Project and were joined on the day in on the Saturday morning was an impressive by project partners from across the catchment sight with anglers snaking around the outside of as well as the Angling Trust. The sun shone, and the venue and spilling over into the car parks. It the crowds came out, and we had a busy but was just as impressive to see how much new enjoyable day talking about the life in the river fishing tackle they were carrying on the way out!! and the importance of maintaining the habitat A big thank you to the Environment Agency for and looking after it for future generations. arranging this for us. Mike Lee and I recently undertook a rather epic We did have one other event to attend and train journey from East Yorkshire to the South this was the North West Environment Agency West to train staff from the Westcountry Rivers
Workshops galore
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The Paul Coulson BLOG
and registration will be ready in July and we look forward to seeing you there. We also have a joint workshop on otters, which we are running with the Angling Trust in June. The aim of this event is to gather together experts engaged in work with otters and to try and dispel some of the misinformation that is circulating about them and their impacts. We will be putting together some outputs from the event that we will circulate to members of both organisations. We are also planning a one-day Habitat Workshop to be held in September. This will be at the RSK offices in Coventry, full details will be out soon.
Nothing to report It has been slower than slow on the fishing front over the past few months, a combination of work and family commitments have limited my bankside activities. Mike and I did manage Trust in electric fishing. It was worth the journey that trip to the river after a monster grayling but for the weather alone, as it was glorious sunshine alas it proved elusive. We did, however catch a number of smaller grayling of 6oz or so which for the three days we were there, something we haven’t seen before, which bodes well for the that has been in short supply up north this year. future. On the match fishing front, I managed We based ourselves in Newton Abbot and held to fish one more of the pairs winter league on the practical part of the course at the National the canal, which made it two from six fished and Trust-run Bradley House, which is on the banks of the River Lemon; possibly the best name for a meant we won nothing. Apologies to Mike for river I’ve come across. As always we had a great my poor show this winter, I may well be dumped next year! bunch of trainees who all got involved and were keen to learn as much as they could. We have recently had a new addition to the
More Events As I write this we are only a week away from our annual specialist conference. As you will be aware this year’s theme was Fisheries Management in Estuarine and Coastal Waters. We have put together an excellent programme and we are looking forward to an interesting couple of days at Lancaster University. The next edition of FISH will be based on the conference so there will be a full report on proceedings then. We continue to work on the 49th Annual Conference, which will be hosted by the Yorkshire and North East Branch. The venue is the rather grand Guildhall in Hull and the theme for the conference is ‘Thriving or Surviving – Building Resilient Fisheries’. The programme 40
Coulson Clan in the form of Nettle the beagle puppy. I’d love to report that she is a lovely calm puppy that sleeps all day and causes no bother at all, but that would be a lie! Her favourite game at the minute is to chew anything that is within reach of her and to dig holes in my lawn. So far she has eaten her way through a table lamp cable, a laptop charger, several tea towels, socks, strawberry plants and numerous bits of Lego and children’s toys. Hopefully she will calm down soon.
Tight lines. Paul Coulson - Director of Operations Paul.coulson@ifm.org.uk 07960 939 836
Services offered by Electrafish include on site testing to Environment Agency Services ffered by Electrafish on site to W Environment Agency the supply dards, repairs to aony electric fishing include machines mtesting ade in olverhampton, standards, repairs to any electric fishing machines made in Wolverhampton, the supply of generator and battery p owered fishing machines, anodes, cathodes, and Honda new gServices offered by Electrafish site testing to Environment Agency enerator and battery powered include fishing omn achines, anodes, cathodes, and Honda ric fishing generators standards, repairs to any electric fishing machines made in Wolverhampton, the supply of electric fishing generators generator attery powered fishing achines, anodes, cathodes, and Honda also also cnd arry out reconditioning om lder which have ften erformed We new cWe arry oaut rbeconditioning of oof lder machines achines which hoave opften performed many r eliable y ears o f s ervice i n t he f ield. F or e xample, m any m achines b uilt i n 1 999 electric f ishing g enerators y reliable years of service in the field. For example, many machines built ian nd 1999 a have and updated, hereby providing a virtually ew machine before We also bceen arry reconditioned out reconditioning of older tm achines which h ave often pnerformed e have een and updated, thereby providing a virtually new machi at ab m uch rreconditioned educed many reliable years coost. f service in the field. For example, many machines built in 1999 and much ceen ost. raeconditioned reduced re continually aind mproving all tnhereby ew generator and powered before hElectrafish ave b updated, providing ab vattery irtually new machine machines. G enerator m achines c an h ave s ockets f or f rom 1 t o 6 o r m ore a nodes p and 1 or at a much a reduced cost. Electrafish re continually improving all new generator and battery owered cathodes, nd cb attery powered achines cfan bfe Smooth or P ulsed C output or and 1 more Electrafish re ontinually ih mproving all new generator b6attery owered ines. Generator ma aachines can ave msockets or rom 1a nd to or mpDore anodes both. Generator machines can have sockets for from 1 to 6 or more anodes and 1 or machines. cathodes, and bp attery p owered achines an be Sfmooth oorder. r Pulsed DC output or Regular reports are pm rovided to ccustomers or every more cathodes, arogress nd battery powered machines an be Smooth or Pulsed DC output or both. The primary driving forces behind ELECTRAFISH have been, and always will be, customer service, customer support nd product reliability. order. dedicated Regular progress reports ap re rovided provided o cacustomers for very order. Regular progress reports are to ustomers feor every Electrafish m achines are qbuick and easy to operate, abnd extremely effective n any The p rimary d riving f orces ehind E LECTRAFISH h ave een, a nd a ill bie, The primary driving forces behind ELECTRAFISH have been, always nd aw lways will be, harsh a nd c hallenging c onditions c ommonly e ncountered. dedicated customer service, customer support and product reliability. ated customer service, customer saupport apnd product reliability. Quality, mm aintenance and servicing of atll o prioritised in aell ffective d esign ian nd Electrafish achines are quick nd easy oroducts perate, is and extremely any Electrafish achines re quick and easy to operate, manufacturing functions. harsh and m challenging caonditions commonly encountered. and extremely effective in an challenging Quality, mcaintenance and servicing of eancountered. ll products is prioritised in all design and h and onditions commonly manufacturing f unctions. Quality, m aintenance and servicing of all products is prioritised in all design and ufacturing functions.
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Wolverhampton WV4 4PR, England. Electrafish Limited, Registered Office: 48 Warstones Drive, Penn, Email: sales@electrafish.co.uk Tel: 01902 340625 Mob: 07775 608505 Wolverhampton WV4 4PR, England.
Email: sales@electrafish.co.uk
Tel: 01902 340625
Mob: 07775 608505
Electrafish Limited, Registered Office: 48 Warstones Drive, Penn, Wolverhampton WV4 4PR, England.
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IFM News
IFM News Event
Date
Location
49th Annual Conference: Thriving or Surviving – Creating Resilient Fisheries
16th to 18th October 2018
Hull Guildhall
Environment Agency and IFM Fisheries Monitoring Workshop
24th &25th July 2018
Hilton Nottingham
For further details on up and coming events: www.ifm.org.uk/events
Training Report
Emma Keenan at the very cold IFM Certificate Field Course
The Training Team has, as usual, been up and down the country over the last few months. The IFM Certificate Field Course took place over a very cold and snowy weekend in March. We based ourselves at Rempstone once again with the practical elements of the course taking place at a local fish farm.
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The weather was not kind to us and with a wind chill of -100C and heavy snow we were forced to rethink our practical options. One group of hardy souls braved the weather and went to a local fish farm to do a stock check and cropping, the other part of the group carried out some fish biology and water quality practicals in the warmth of the hall. It was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend
A big thank you to Ian Wellby, Pete Turner, Emma Keenan, Paul and Iain for all their help on the weekend.
IFM News
with a great bunch of students who all got stuck in despite the weather. If you are on the Certificate Course and would like to attend next year’s course keep an eye out for details from Pete.
no longer being at the address we have for them. If you think you may have changed address, even your email one and not notified us, then please just spare a moment and check your details online or give me a call or send me an email and I can check for you. Thank you Iain Turner Development & Membership Officer
The weather also impacted on the last of our Fishery Management Workshops that we run on Branch news behalf of the Environment Agency. The snow that fell in Hampshire in March forced us to postpone Welsh Branch the planned workshop in Romsey until April. The Welsh branch held their AGM in November Mike and Paul have delivered a couple of electric last year which was kicked off by some excellent presentations from Libby West of Devon and fishing courses. We had our traditional spring Severn IFCA, Ida Tavner of Natural Resources course, which had students from University College London, as well as delegates from Ireland Wales and Andy Schofield of Tidal Lagoon in attendance. They then made the long journey Power. This was followed by a great meeting down to the South West to deliver training to staff to plan the branch’s activities for 2018 with lots of willing volunteers offering to take on different and interns from the Westcountry Rivers Trust. tasks. Events planned for 2018 include a shad The first cohort of Environment Agency staff conservation workshop and a fish and forestry enrolled on our Award course are now nearing field trip. In true Welsh tradition we ended the the end. They only have one assignment and the evening with a social in the local watering hole. project to submit to complete the course. We are really pleased with how the course has gone Irish Branch and the amount of hard work all of the students The Ireland Branch recently held a committee have put in. meeting in Belfast. This was the first time the Both our Certificate and Diploma Students take committee had met since the Big Fish in October. exams in June. Best of luck to everyone taking After a few pats on the back the branch got them. We have also opened enrolment for both down to business with many useful discussions, courses so if you interested in taking either including around the branch programme of course please get in touch with Iain. events for 2018 and how to connect with the wide range of fisheries bodies on the island of Paul Coulson Ireland. It is planned to hold meetings with the Training Team heads of the fisheries management bodies to discuss issues of mutual benefit. Membership news By now you should have all received your renewal letters and a big thank you to those of you that have renewed this year. If you haven’t yet then it’s really simple, you can do it very quickly online and pay by card or you can arrange a direct debit or even pay by cheque if you so wish. One thing that I would ask you to do is check that we have your up to date contact details, (address, phone numbers and email address), as we have a number of renewal letters that get sent back to us each year due to people moving and
The branch events will include a one day conference in September on contemporary fisheries management and will most likely be held in Athlone. Further details to follow through the usual channels. After hosting the Annual Conference in 2017 the branch is also keen to pass on any relevant learning to other branches. The branch AGM will be held after the Athlone event in September. In advance of this, Art Niven will be stepping down as Honorary Secretary of 43
IFM News
the branch after seven years but will, it is hoped, remain on the committee.
Scottish Branch Chairman’s Report 2017 After several years of uncertainty linked to the Wild Fishery Reform process, Scottish Government have confirmed a reduced ambition for the process, particularly in terms of fundamental restructuring of fishery management organisations in Scotland. Whilst there is disappointment at some missed opportunities, especially in terms of funding, there is now a clearer picture emerging of the future of fishery management in Scotland. The District Salmon Fishery Boards remain as the management organisations with responsibilities and powers relating to salmon and sea trout. However, the merger of the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards and Rivers and Fisheries Trusts Scotland into a new umbrella organisation Fishery Management Scotland, will help to co-ordinate the activities of Boards and Trusts to deliver the most effective management possible with the resources available. Some of the ambitions of the Wild Fishery Reform process have not been abandoned and the work of a number of Scottish Government and Fishery Management Scotland working groups is ongoing. IFM Scottish Branch members sit on all of these working groups and on the Board of Fishery Management Scotland. Scottish Branch and its individual members will continue to promote the importance of evidence-based fishery management and the appropriate training of fishery staff to support successful and sustainable wild fisheries in Scotland. Some of the main work streams being taken forward from Wild Fishery Reform include:
importance of support and training for bailiffs. IFM Scotland will work closely with Fisheries Management Scotland in helping to support and facilitate further development of bailiff and enforcement training. • Staff training and continuing professional development. The training of all fishery staff, including bailiffs, is a high priority. A matrix of training needs is being developed to support this. Training should be seen as an ongoing process of professional development. For bailiffs, passing the IFM Scottish Bailiffing exam, should be seen as an entry to the profession rather like a driving theory test. This should then be followed by a programme of practical courses which allow bailiffs to develop, practise and demonstrate their skills. A programme of training and CPD is being developed for all staff involved in Scottish fishery management and Scottish Branch will work closely with Fisheries Management Scotland and the Scottish Fishery Coordination Centre to achieve this. • Angling development and promotion. There is a clear need to encourage much greater participation in angling to secure the future of Scottish fisheries. IFM Scottish Branch will be involved in all these aspects of Wild Fishery Reform. We have some changes to the Branch Committee to help with this. Lorraine Hawkins has taken on much of the administrative role of Scottish Branch and Edward Rush has taken on the role of coordinating bailiff training courses. The annual Bailiff’s conference was held in Dumbarton in March and was well attended by bailiffs from around the country. The conference was opened by the Chief Constable for Scotland and included a series of lectures and site visits looking at the challenges of enforcing fishery legislation in urban areas close to Glasgow.
• The development of a fishery management plan template to allow local management issues, the identification of mitigations and the A programme of training events was organised actions taken to be recorded and reported in a by Scottish Branch during 2017 both to allow format that will help inform national strategy. enforcement staff to practise and develop core skills and also to gain knowledge and practical • Law enforcement and fishery protection. experience of wider fishery and catchment The importance of the role of Water Bailiffs management techniques (see report below). employed by Fishery Boards and appointed by Scottish Ministers is recognised, as is the
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IFM News
A further programme of training will be developed in 2018 and we are also presently working with the Scottish Fishery Coordination Centre to develop protocols and training for the deployment and use of smolt traps. We are sorry to report the recent death of Dr Derek Mills who was one of the founding members of the Scottish Branch of IFM. Derek had a huge influence on fishery management and inspired several generations of fishery biologists and managers.
Training events organised by Scottish Branch during 2017 With Continuing Professional Development (CPD) expected to play an increasingly important role for water bailiffs and fishery managers in Scotland, IFM Scottish Branch had a busy year putting together training days for over 40 fishery staff. Working with agencies such as Police Scotland, the Fish Health Inspectorate and local Fishery Boards, four training days were held, all of which focused on a range of practical skills.
‘disease testing kit’ to take away with them to use. With the arrival of pink salmon throughout Scotland during the summer, the event was a timely reminder of the need for fishery staff to be trained in how to deal with potential disease risks.
In November, the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board kindly laid on a training day which focused on the planting of trees beside upland river The first training day was held in May and systems and how those trees can be protected focused on how to deal with a poaching incident, from grazing pressures. The event was once offence report writing, and how to gather again based around practical training, with the evidence found in a forensic manner. This was day spent in glorious winter sunshine beside the held in conjunction with a Wildlife Crime Officer Baddoch Burn near Braemar, learning how to from Police Scotland and was very well attended build small enclosures, which were then planted with water bailiffs coming from many rivers in with native broadleaved trees. Attendees were the north and east of Scotland. The event was also shown ‘green engineering’ techniques using initially classroom-based with groups then having willow to protect river banks from erosion. As to deal with three different rod and line poaching with the previous events held earlier in the year, incidents on a nearby river utilising the knowledge all those who took part went away having learnt passed on by the Wildlife Crime Officer. The new and important skills. event attracted both experienced and newly qualified water bailiffs, but regardless of their level The final event of the year was hosted by the of experience the feedback from all those who Cromarty Firth Fishery Board at their salmon attended was entirely positive, with all attendees trapping facility near Contin. The event focussed having benefitted from the tuition provided. on the management of salmon broodstock for a hatchery, with those who attended given The next event was held in June in conjunction instruction on how to recognise ripe fish, how to with the Fish Health Inspectorate who provided strip fish and then the care of eggs post-stripping a member of staff to train bailiffs on how to take before transfer to a hatchery. Participants were samples from diseased fish for analysis. This also given the opportunity to gather data from the year has once again seen rivers throughout fish, which included noting lengths, weight and Scotland suffer from deaths of wild salmon. The taking scale samples as well as being taught how day provided the opportunity to learn the required Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags are skills to sample fish, which are suffering from used on migrating smolts to assess how many of signs of disease. Each attendee was given a them return as adults. 45
IFM News
Midlands Branch The Midlands branch held a combined event with CIWEM on 21st March at Loughborough University titled ‘Connecting people, rivers and partnerships workshop’. The event brought in more than 60 delegates from across the region and beyond and was a great success. Two water bailiff exam dates were set this year. The first one was timed to coincide with the annual water bailiffs’ conference held in Dumbarton, where two people sat the paper and passed. A second exam was held in December with venues in Moray and the Western Isles. 46
IFM London and SE Branch So far this year, the Branch has held two informative and well attended evening meetings at King’s College. In February we were delighted to welcome Gareth Davies (Environment Agency) to talk on invasive non-native fishes.
Unfortunately, our March talk on improving fish passage on the Hogsmill by Toby Hull and Chris Gardner (South East Rivers Trust) had to be cancelled because our normal venue was unavailable at the last minute. We hope this will appear in our programme in the future. Our April talk was given by Graeme Peirson (Environment Agency) under the enigmatic title ‘Sampling fish in lakes and rivers – why not just take a dip?’ Graeme gave a fascinating presentation on developments of new approaches involving sequencing and identifying DNA released into water from skin, urine and faeces and the information it can provide on fish living in a lake. At the time of writing, our annual dawn visit to Billingsgate Fish Market is coming up, as well as an evening presentation by Martin Slater (Environment Agency) on ‘Our Rivers Recovery & Renewal - Returning salmon to Yorkshire’s postindustrial rivers’. This will be a joint meeting with CIWEM, with a preceding afternoon visit being planned by the Integrated Catchment Delivery Team to view the weir removal programme on the River Wandle. Summer visits (e.g. Thames foreshore archaeology) and workshops are planned and then the next big event is our Annual Sherry Evening in October, where we hope to also have a talk related to the Blue Planet TV series.
Yorkshire and NE Branch The Yorkshire and NE branch are busy with preparations for this year’s Annual Conference to be held in Hull in October. If you’re interested in getting involved with your local branch do please get in touch with your local branch contact, they will always be interested to hear from you.
IFM News
He critically discussed key factors using the highly invasive topmouth gudgeon as a model species and outlined studies in invaded waters and mesocosms and how information gained can inform eradication programmes using piscicides and population control approaches using biomanipulation and biocontrol at local and national scales.
Branch Contacts If you want more information on IFM activities in your region, please contact the branch secretaries through the email addresses below: East Anglia: Andrew Sadler
andrew.sadler@environment-agency.gov.uk
Ireland: Art Niven Art.Niven@loughs-agency.org London & South East: Steve Colclough srcifm@gmail.com Midlands/Lincolnshire: Ryan Taylor ryan.taylor@environment-agency.gov.uk North West: Paul Coulson paul.coulson@ifm.org.uk South West: Iain Turner swest@ifm.org.uk Southern: Iain Turner
iain.turner@ifm.org.uk
Scotland: Lorraine Hawkins lorraine@riverdee.org Wales: Emma Keenan
emma.keenan@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk
Yorkshire & North East: Mike Lee
michael.lee@environment-agency.gov.uk
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Breaking News
Breaking News
Deposit Refund System announced for England will drastically cut waste
New farming rules for water
Marine Conservation Society says decision is a massive step forward to tackle marine litter. The Marine Conservation Society is delighted at the announcement made by Environment Secretary Michael Gove on the 28th March that a scheme for deposit returns on plastic and glass bottles and metal cans is to be introduced in England. The charity says the move will lead to a big reduction in waste when it comes into place. The deposit system plans are subject to a consultation, Defra says, and MCS agrees that this will need to work with other mechanisms to stop the plastic tide, such as potential taxes and charges to reduce waste from single-use plastics.
Photo: Dennis Bright
From 2 April 2018 new rules for all farmers in England were introduced to help protect water quality, by standardising good farm practices that many are already performing and offering a new approach to regulation. In essence the rules require farmers to: • keep soil on the land; • match nutrients to crop, and soil needs, and • keep livestock, fertilisers and manures out of the water. The Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said: “These new rules are a win-win for farmers and the environment. They will help improve water quality, set a level playing field for all farmers, help businesses save money from better resource efficiency and improve their resilience. “Our ambition is to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it and these new rules will help us deliver our plans for a Green Brexit along with a better future for farming business.”
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MCS’s appeal to tackle the rising problem of plastic in our seas is at www.mcsuk.org/stopthe-plastic-tide
Europe’s largest salmon tracking study aims to halt species’ decline The Missing Salmon Project announced to track salmon in the Moray Firth aims to raise £1million through a crowdfunding campaign to find the cause of Atlantic salmon’s decline. Executive director of the AST, Sarah Bayley Slater, said: “In launching the Missing Salmon Project, we are making our stand now and giving our generation a chance to save the species before it’s too late.”
fish tracking and monitoring equipment
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The VEMCO Positioning System (VPS) uses off-the-shelf receivers and tags to conduct fine scale positioning studies.
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Book Review
Book Review
Climate Change Impacts on Fisheries and Aquaculture. A Global Analysis By Bruce F. Phillips and Mónica Pérez–Ramírez Said to be the first book of its kind, Climate Change Impacts on Fisheries and Aquaculture, explores the impacts of climate change on global fisheries resources and on marine aquaculture. It also offers expert suggestions on possible adaptations to reduce those impacts. The world′s climate is changing more rapidly than scientists had envisioned just a few years ago, and the potential impact of climate change on world food production is quite alarming. Nowhere is the sense of alarm more keenly felt than among those who study the warming of the world′s oceans. Concern about the dire effects of climate change on fisheries and fish farming has now mounted to such an extent that the need for a book such as this has become urgent. A landmark publication devoted exclusively to how climate change is affecting and is likely to affect commercially vital fisheries and aquaculture operations globally, Climate Change Impacts on Fisheries and Aquaculture provides scientists and fishery managers with a summary of and reference point for information on the subject which has been gathered thus far. • Covers an array of critical topics and assesses reviews of climate change impacts on fisheries and aquaculture from many countries, including Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, Chile, US, UK, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, India and others 50
• Features chapters on the effects of climate change on pelagic species, cod, lobsters, plankton, macroalgae, seagrasses and coral reefs • Reviews the spread of diseases, economic and social impacts, marine aquaculture and adaptation in aquaculture under climate change • Includes special reports on the Antarctic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea Extensive references throughout the book make this volume both a comprehensive text for general study and a reference/guide to further research for fisheries scientists, fisheries managers, aquaculture personnel, climate change specialists, aquatic invertebrate and vertebrate biologists, physiologists, marine biologists, economists, environmentalist biologists and planners. Climate Change Impacts on Fisheries and Aquaculture. A Global Analysis By Bruce F. Phillips and Mónica Pérez–Ramírez Published by Wiley-Blackwell Amazon £189.99 Hard copy 1048 pages Order online or request additional information at: https://www.researchandmarkets.com/ publication/mdsxh7d/4070637
Fish and eel pass design, fabrication and installation, including full CAD capabilities Tidal gate fish passage mitigation, including design, fabrication and installation of bespoke dampers and spring retarders Fisheries assessments and surveys, including PHABSIM studies, electro-fishing, quantitative mapping, advanced quantitative experimental design, migration and barrier studies Fisheries monitoring and R&D, including pit-tagging, DIDSON/ARIS & camera monitoring, telemetry studies, field-based experiments and product development Fisheries impact assessments of hydropower installations and appropriate mitigation measures In-house civil construction design and project management
Unit 1 Shinners Bridge, Webbers Way, Dartington, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 6JY www.ďŹ shtek.co.uk
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Members and their FISH
Phil Rippon with a 38lb cod caught in Norway
Do you have a picture of yourself with a fish? If so FISH would like to hear from you.
Send your images to: fish@ifm.org.uk