facts & figures

Contents

1

Jersey Fisheries............2

Mussels.....................14

Bass............................4

Ormers......................16

Brown Crab..................6

Oyster.......................18

John Dory.....................8

Sea Bream................20

Lobster.......................10

Sole..........................22

Mackerel....................12

Spider Crab...............24

3

Jersey Fisheries.

Jersey Fishing industry is a vast part of Jersey life. With over thirty fishing ports, it is imperative the sustainability of the wild stock stays balanced. This book will identity a few of local species and hopefully informs you about the species of sea life. At very low tide, the island has the second highest tidal range in the world, making the island ‘grow, by up to a third on the lowest tide. Figures were taken from a report that summarises the information given to the Department by the Jersey commercial fleet in logbook landing returns. This indicates that although crustacean pot numbers fell the tonnage of lobster caught peaked at 176 tonnes, the highest tonnage recorded, while crab landings dipped to a substantially lower level than in 2008. Total shellfish landings were down by 19% by weight but within this we saw the re-orientation of effort towards the higher value species, and with increased unit value it resulted in an overall 2.3% increase in the value of the shellfish landed. Overall wet fish landings decreased by 54%. This drop is in part due to larger wet fish vessels working outside of Jersey’s Territorial Waters and landing elsewhere as indicated in the Annexes at the end of the report. The reported the landings of bass were down across all vessel sizes of the fleet.

5

Bass.

Bass are one of the species most sought-after by recreational anglers as well as fishermen. Hook-and-line is the primary gear used by recreational anglers, which has limited or no effect on habitat. Recreational landings for bass make up roughly 75-80% of the coastal landings. Commercial fishermen harvest bass with a variety of gear including gill nets, pound nets, haul seines, and hook-and-line. There are strict sizes measurements to landing bass, being 36cm from head to tail. This is to allow the schooling fish to grow, keeping the stocks steady for the future.

7

Brown Crab.

It is the subject of the largest crab fishery in Western Europe, centred around the coasts of the British Isles, with more than 60,000 tonnes caught annually. A mature adult may have a carapace width of up to 25 cm (10 in) and weigh up to 3 kg (6.6 lb) and had to be at least 14 cm across to be landed.

9

John Dory.

The John Dory numbers could be depleting, as the quantity landed have dramatically fallen in the last few years, from 153 Kg in 2005 to just 11 kg in 2011. The John Dory grows to a maximum size of 65 cm and 3 kg in weight. It has 10 long spines on its dorsal fin and 4 spines on its anal fin and has microscopic, sharp scales that run around the body. The fish is an olive green color with a silvery white belly and has a dark spot on its side. The dark spot is used to flash an ‘evil eye’ if danger approaches. The John Dory usually gets its food by stalking it then shooting out a tube in its mouth to capture its prey. The John Dory eats a variety of fish, especially schooling fish, such as sardines. Occasionally they eat squid and cuttlefish.

They live near the seabed, living in depths from 5 metres (15 ft) to 360 metres (1200 ft). They are normally solitary. A typical lifespan is about 12 years in the wild.

11

Lobster.

Jersey and France fishery includes around 130 small fishing boats catching lobsters using pots. Together, the fishers catch a total of 270 – 290 tonnes of lobsters each year. Lobsters are invertebrates with a hard protective exoskeleton. Like most arthropods, lobsters must moult in order to grow, which leaves them vulnerable. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate. They have two different types of claws, the crusher claw and the pincer claw, which can be regenerate if lost to predation. This would include their claws, legs, antennules and antennae.

13

Mackerel.

Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. Most of the grown fish are between 14 and 18 inches long; a few reach a length close to 22 inches. In 2009, over five millions tonnes were landed by commercial fishermen, world wide.

Mackerel is a very sustainable fish as the figures indicate. In the past five years the amount landed range between 9000 kg and 6000 kg, showing there is an abundance in Jersey waters.

15

Mussels.

Mussels also called Moules are widely available in Jersey and the other Channel Islands. Jersey Mussels are farmed mainly in the Royal Bay of Grouville by the Jersey Oyster Company. The huge tidal range and crystal clear waters surrounding Jersey make it an ideal place to harvest this seafood delicacy. In 2006 fifteen of Jerseys beaches including the Royal Bay of Grouville were included in the Marine Conservation society’s good beach guide. Before environmental protection became fashionable in 1997 Jersey became the first island to gain Green Globe status . This outstanding clean unpolluted natural environment provides the perfect environment to produce some of the best natural produce in Europe. Jersey mussels are grown from seed mussels on wooden poles the traditional Normandy and Brittany method.

17

Ormers.

The green ormer, scientific name Haliotis tuberculata, is a species of edible sea snail, a coastal marine gastropod mollusc in the family Haliotidae, the abalones or ormer snails. Ormers are considered a great delicacy in the British Channel Islands. Overfishing has led to a dramatic depletion in numbers since the latter half of the 19th century. The gathering of ormers is now restricted to a number of “ormering tides�, from January 1 to April 30, which occur on the full or new moon and two days following that.

No ormers may be taken from the beach that are under 90 mm in shell length. Gatherers are not allowed to wear wetsuits or even put their heads underwater. Any breach of these laws is a criminal offense which can lead to a fine of up to ÂŁ5,000 or six months in prison

19

Oysters.

Oysters are filter feeders, drawing water in over their gills through the beating of cilia. Suspended plankton and particles are trapped in the mucus of a gill, and from there are transported to the mouth, where they are eaten, digested and expelled as feces or pseudofaeces. An oyster can filter up to 5 litres (1.3 US gal) of water per hour.The waters around Jersey are warmed by the Gulf stream and produce a large variety of seafood including crabs, sole, plaice and lobsters. Jersey also hosts a 25.1 hectare oyster farm, ‘Royal Bay Oysters’ in the Royal Bay of Grouville. Each year approximately 200 tonnes of oysters are produced, with 90% exported to France. The company also now produces in excess of 12 million partly grown oysters, known as ‘half ware’ for sale to French and UK shellfish farmers for ongrowing to market size.

21

Sea Bream.

Sea bream is oval in outline. Adults are a large (35-40 cm), silvery fish, although some have 6-9 dusky, vertical bars on the sides. It has a single long dorsal and anal fin and a large, slightly forked tail. The mouth is small and the jaws are equal in length, usually found on the inshore shelf at depths varying from 5 to 300 m. They are usually found in schools feeding on seaweeds and invertebrates. The profile of the head is smoothly convex in the young but changes to concave in mature males. Nesting males are often almost black in colour. Juveniles usually have numerous broken yellow stripes along the sides and a dark edge to the tail.Spawning occurs in April and May. They lay their eggs on a nest that the male excavates on the sand with its tail. Sea bream is a hermaphrodite and undergoes a change in sex during its life. It is omnivorous, feeding on seaweeds and small invertebrates, especially crustaceans.

23

Sole.

Sole is a right-eyed flatfish (eyes on the right hand side of the body) and belongs to the family of flatfishes known as Soleidae. It can attain lengths of 60-70cm and weigh 3kg.The maximum reported age is 26 years. Sole is a nocturnal predator and therefore more susceptible to capture by fisheries at night than in daylight. The stock is fluctuating around precautionary reference points, but is managed in a way that is unlikely to lead to the stock declining below safe biological levels. Commercially, sole are caught in spring tides, using a variety of fishing nets, which will always allow growth as they cant be over fished.

25

Spider Crab.

The Spider crab eaten in the Channel Islands is the European spider crab.

This crab likes to live in areas where the seabed is soft. They are often found buried in the sand. Male adult spider crabs are also found where the seabed is rocky or partially rocky and sandy. The Spider Crab has a life cycle of 5-8 years and has a larval stage and a juvenile stage before it is able to reproduce as an adult. There is a minimum shell size of 120mm set by the European union to protect the species from over fishing and allow the Spider crab to reproduce before being eaten.It is a little known fact that the European spider crabs migrate and they can travel up to 100 miles during an 8 months period. Over 5000 tons of spider crab are caught annually 70% off the coast of France with only 3% of the catch of spider crabs being caught in the Channel Islands. There is a season when you can catch and eat spider crab in France and the Channel Islands and you must not catch spider crab during the moulting season when they have soft shells.