It’s remarkable how quickly the Scottish Pelagic Industry-Science Data Collection Programme (SPISDCP) has progressed since the initial feasibility study in 2018, which has now led to data being used in the scientific assessment process of mackerel, herring and blue whiting, according to Dr Katie Brigden, Pelagic Fisheries Scientist at UHI Shetland.
‘Initially it was a pilot self-sampling project instigated by industry and involving seven Scottish pelagic vessels, but as it turned out, we quickly over-achieved with all Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association (SPFA) vessels becoming involved,’ she said.
‘It’s testament to the willingness of Scottish pelagic fishermen to support marine science and ensure there is better information on stocks, which in turn leads to more informed decision-making in stock management. We have the commitment from all SPFA member vessels to a long-term data collection programme, which is really encouraging.’
The SPISDCP is a collaboration between the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, UHI Shetland and the Marine Directorate of the Scottish government. Within the programme, crews on board Scottish pelagic fishing vessels undertake sampling of their catches in two ways – self-sampling, whereby vessel crews measure the length and weight of a sample of fish in the catch, and by co-sampling, whereby crews collect frozen samples of fish for scientists onshore to carry out biological sampling of length, sex, maturity and ageing.
The data collected provide valuable biological information for each of the targeted species, highlighting patterns and changes in distribution and size of fish in the catch. In January 2022 the co-sampling scheme was adopted under Scotland’s national sampling programme to become the main mechanism for collecting biological data on the catches of pelagic fish to be used in stock assessments.
Following training, sampling is undertaken by crew on each of the vessels, and involves taking biological samples of the catch from every haul in their fisheries for mackerel, herring and blue whiting. Ideas and feedback from skippers and crew have been used to co-develop simple and efficient sampling protocols and data collection tools, which includes a robust keypad for inputting data at sea, and direct uploading of data to cloud storage while at sea.
‘The key to the success of the programme is that it has dramatically improved the way we sample the catch as it enables us to randomly sample the full activity of the whole fishery. This provides much more accurate data to determine the age structure of the catch and the condition of the stock,’ Dr Brigden said.
‘It is great that there is now such a good relationship between the pelagic fishing industry and scientists as it fosters trust and co-operation, and which paves the way for even closer collaboration in the future.’
Alongside the work at sea, a lot of effort has gone into ensuring quality control processes, including establishing a clear chain of custody for the data, and developing tools for efficient generation of reports, which are fed back to the vessels within one week of receiving their data. Data sharing agreements and Memorandums of Understanding have been established to formalise the commitments of the partners involved in the programme.
In addition to the co-sampling, there is hope that the self-sampling element of the programme will soon become integrated into the stock assessment process, as weighing and measuring fish onboard a vessel provides a valuable complementary data-set to the co-sampling, including information on the quality and condition of the fish.
‘Sampling length and weight provides fundamental information on fish growth and enables seasonal and inter-annual variations in growth patterns to be captured. It also provides valuable information for research into species’ ecology,’ she commented.
‘One of the key benefits of working with the industry is the vast amount of knowledge fishermen have on pelagic stocks, which is something we can tap into, ensuring there is real value in the co-operation between scientists and skippers. An important element of the programme is the need to demonstrate data checks so that the information collected is trusted and follows the correct protocols.’
There is currently a bid for EU funding to further develop the pelagic programme by utilising vessels’ catch records dating back to the 1970s, which can give a greater understanding of stock trends, including abundance and distribution over time. There is also the potential to further develop the information collected by industry; building on the biological data collection to look at spawning and fish condition of pelagic stocks, and adding the collection of environmental data such as temperature at depth.
Ongoing developments of industry’s participation in science include collaboration on monitoring and mitigation of bycatch of sensitive species as part of the EU Life project CIBBRiNA, research on changes on mackerel distribution, and a new PhD project that will use contemporary sampling data and historical records to examine changes in pelagic fish stocks and Scottish pelagic fisheries.
‘There is real value in industry and science working together and often we find that skippers have a lot of ideas about improving the data collection process,’ Katie Bridgen said.
‘It is incredible how quickly we have moved forward since the initial pilot in 2018 and the collaboration is a pioneering example for other parts of the fishing industry to follow.’
