SISP (Scottish Industry/Science Partnership) has funded the three projects with the potential to increase Scotland’s fishing and conservation efforts. It is said that these projects are based in Shetland, Orkney and on the west coast. These projects are developed and run in conjunction with the fishing industry, they include a trial of new fishing gear in Shetland designed to allow juvenile cod to escape the catch.
The projects are operated by the Shetland’s Fisherman’s Association, in partnership with Marine Scotland Science, the project will receive £95,000. It’s hoped the results will have a positive impact on gear options available under the Conservation Credits scheme. It is mentioned that the project on the west coast will receive £77,000 to focus on new methods of surveying the inshore fish population on the west coast. In Orkney £60,000 is going towards brown crab data collection and tagging.
SISP money funds supplementary research into sea fisheries issues based on ideas put forward by representatives of the industry. Rural Affairs and Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead commented that this new funding which can only help bolster their already outstanding conservation credentials. He added that this is an invaluable initiative that allows for greater collaboration and understanding between fisheries scientists and the catching sector.
Joyce Petrie, SISP Secretariat said that there is a call once a year for proposals for SISP projects, although suggestions can be submitted at any time, and, with SISP now in its third year, the ideas received are increasingly focussed on areas of high priority. The Conservation Credits Scheme is the scheme which implements in Scotland the EU’s cod recovery plan. In December 2008 the EU agreed to a new way of allocating fishing effort for whitefish and nephrops vessels over 10 metres.
It is mentioned that the Scottish Government has been working with the industry to develop these conservation measures, like the use of more selective fishing gears that allow more fish to escape, to offer a range of “buy back” options.
