Abstract
The collection of additional data to facilitate fisheries management has been identified as a priority at the national level via the Scottish Inshore Fisheries Strategy, and at the local level in the management plans of Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups. Data collection implemented by industry offers a potentially cost effective means by which to provide additional information to enhance current stock assessment programmes, and to produce empirical indicators to inform fisheries management. The fundamental driver for data collection should be the purpose for which it is required; however, the regionalisation of fisheries management and increased, and often competing, demands, on our marine space mean that there are many potential uses for industry derived data. This report presents the findings of a single work package in the wider prototypic Scottish Inshore Fisheries Integrated Data System (SIFIDS) project; looking at ways in which inshore fisheries data collection can be improved on. The propose of this work package was to review and evaluate current inshore (shellfish) fisheries data collection and stock assessments in order to determine where it might be possible for industry derived data collection to provide a positive contribution. For the purposes of this work package the focus was limited to brown crab, lobsters, and scallops. The information contained within this report is intended to inform Marine Scotland at both Science and Policy levels, Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups, and further work packages in the SIFIDS project. The report contains a review of the current data collection and stock assessment programmes; this is followed by analyses of available data in order to determine where additional sampling would be beneficial. The report also contains information on possible mechanisms by which fisher led data collection could be carried out, and a process for the design of sampling protocols involving industry. The analysis provided in this report, and contained within the technical appendices, is very detailed and is designed to provide an indication of where industry derived data could be utilised by scientists and data managers within the existing stock assessment programme. There are a great deal of data that are collected as part of the stock assessment programme. It was not possible, within the time constraints of this project, to review all of the data for each of the species in question. The report therefore focuses on a few specific areas including the potential for enhancing length frequency data for use in crustacean stock assessments, and the use of daily landings information as a proxy for landings per unit effort (LPUE).
Original language | English |
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Place of Publication | St Andrews |
Publisher | Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) |
Number of pages | 199 |
Publication status | Published - 1 May 2018 |
Keywords
- Inshore fisheries management
- Scotland
- SIFIDS
- EMFF: SCO1434