The NAFC Marine Centre works closely with the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation (SSMO) to deliver projects that assist in the continued development of well managed inshore shellfish stocks around Shetland. The organisations have now announced that they intend to pool some core resources to improve knowledge relating to king scallop stocks this summer, and this will in turn strengthen the case for the upcoming Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) accreditation assessment for this species.
The MSC will assess four stocks within the inshore waters managed through the Shetland Regulating Order this autumn. If successful, this will be the first lobster, brown crab, velvet crab and king scallop fisheries in Europe to be accredited for their sustainability, level of management and environmental responsibility.
Although pot fisheries for lobster and crab species are considered to be relatively benign in terms of their potential to disturb the marine environment, scallop dredging by contrast is often negatively perceived and it is this area that the Centre and SSMO hope to address in the coming months. While scallop dredging does cause some disturbance to the seabed, it is important to determine the relative severity of this in terms of sensitivity of the habitat, the time that it takes to recover after disturbance and the impact on any animals living on or in it. When a habitat is re-colonised and recovers quickly, and no damage is done to sensitive habitats or species, then an acceptable trade off may be achieved in terms of employment and economic activity in Shetland’s coastal communities.
The NAFC Marine Centre and the SSMO have pledged core resources to begin to map scallop fishing areas in more detail. Particular attention will be directed toward defining the boundaries of sensitive habitats so that these can be avoided and to determining the range and types of species that are disturbed by fishing activity.
The Centre will deploy its new multi-beam side scan sonar seabed mapping equipment and survey dredges to begin to build a detailed 3 dimensional profile of the inshore waters around Shetland, with the types of seabed habitat being encountered checked through the use of underwater cameras. In addition, survey work will be carried out on scallop populations with the aim of identifying areas that are important spawning or nursery grounds.
Dr. Martin Robinson, Head of Marine Science and Technology at the NAFC Marine Centre, commented: “The availability of side scan sonar and validation equipment is a very positive step toward providing a more detailed map of the seafloor and associated habitats around Shetland. In this project we will be assisting the SSMO and its members to minimise the impact of one of its activities, but the equipment has obvious applications for many sectors and users. The shellfisheries team within our Fisheries Science Section, led by Dr. Beth Leslie, are working very closely with the SSMO to achieve MSC accreditation and other management goals. At the moment we have the resources to map only one or two of the important scallop grounds around Shetland, but we hope to be able to progress to full coverage in time.”
Jennifer Mouat, Fisheries Manager with the SSMO, explained: “The SSMO is working towards some new management goals which include Marine Stewardship Council Certification of some of the key shellfish species within Shetland’s inshore waters. We are very excited by the prospect of being able to build on the extensive data set which we already have with a view to ensuring appropriate future management of the fishery and its impacts.”
