Led by Bangor University and the industry-led Crab and Lobster Management Group (CMG), a new Fisheries Industry Science Partnership (FISP) funded project, the Filling the Gap – Crustacean FISP project, is working to close existing evidence gaps relating to brown crab and lobster fisheries in England and Wales.
There have for some time been concerns regarding increased fishing effort and, more recently, declining landings, especially of brown crab. Both non-quota species, significant gaps in our knowledge exist regarding these fisheries, and this was recognised in the prioritisation of the development of the recently published Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) for these species by Defra.
As part of their work to improve management of these species, several gaps – common to both English and Welsh stocks – have been identified by the CMG as critical to the development and implementation of assessments and harvest strategies that are responsive to changes in stock health.
Correspondingly, the existence of significant uncertainties and assumptions in current stock assessment methodologies, and the need to improve this evidence base for effective management has been explicitly recognised in the newly published (14 December) FMP for England.
Working directly with the sector, the Filling the Gap – Crustacean FISP project aims to address these common evidence gaps. Over the coming months, fisheries scientists and industry stakeholders will work together to tackle gaps around catch data, the size structure of lobster populations, seabed impacts of potting activities, and ways to define soft-shelled brown crab, in support of management plans for these species in England and Wales. The evidence gathered by the project will directly contribute to the development and delivery of these plans; and will mean they are based on the best available evidence to effectively support the long-term sustainability and economic profitability of the UK’s fleets.
The Crustacean FISP project will integrate research with knowledge from across the sector. As well as co-design of the research proposal with the CMG, over the past months Bangor University researchers have been speaking to people at sea and on the quayside [in Wales] to piece together a comprehensive picture of the sector, and how it has changed over time, particularly since the 1980s. As part of this, they are actively looking to speak to people involved or who have been involved in the sector, especially to expand the work into key English grounds.