Colleagues onboard our marine research vessel (MRV) Scotia are nearing the end of their latest survey trip but have made good progress collecting information on the abundance and distribution of Nephrops norvegicus, commonly known as langoustine or Dublin bay prawns.
The post News from our Scotia crew appeared first on Marine Scotland.
Colleagues onboard our marine research vessel (MRV) Scotia are nearing the end of their latest survey trip but have made good progress collecting information on the abundance and distribution of Nephrops norvegicus, commonly known as langoustine or Dublin bay prawns.
Nephrops is the second most valuable species landed by the Scottish fleet, representing 15 per cent of the value of all Scottish vessels’ landings. Some 450 vessels in the fleet land prawns valued at around £80 million per year, with £36.8 million in direct gross value added generation through capture and processing which employs almost 2100 people across Scotland. The importance of sustainable management of the Nephrops fishery to Scotland is reflected in the fact that it is the only shellfish species currently subject to a quota.
The areas in which this underwater television (UWTV) survey takes place have been visited regularly over a number of years, usually using one of our research vessels, MRV Scotia or MRV Alba na Mara. The data we get from these surveys provides us with crucial information we need about these sea creatures and is used to provide Nephrops fisheries management advice.
Whilst at sea our team of scientists review footage of the muddy sea bed where Nephrops dig their burrows, allowing for statistical analysis to be carried out in real-time. Mud samples are regularly collected, which helps us to better understand their habitat preference, We also undertake some trawls to catch Nephrops, which enables us to monitor and record their size, shape and reproductive status.
Due to COVID-19 related guidance and rescheduling of surveys, this survey had to be adapted to incorporate additional tasks that hadn’t been possible when restrictions were at their height. In addition to the principal Nephrops work our team were tasked with recovering and deploy monitoring buoys, all equipped with oceanographic sensors and acoustic recorders, at monitoring sites in the North Sea and off the west coast of Scotland.
These devices are part of the Collaborative Oceanography and Monitoring for Protected Areas and Species (COMPASS) project and record the record the sounds produced by marine mammals, including the songs, whistles and moans of larger whales and dolphins, the echolocation clicks of porpoises, and even some noises produced by seals! During this work, our colleagues had the fantastic good fortune to witness two types of dolphin (white sided and bottlenose) leap up from the water and then slap their tails down hard on to the surface of the water.
Later a large pod of dolphins accompanied the vessel as the crew worked through the stations. Retrieval and deployment of further moorings at Hyskeir, Barra and Tiree were all completed in good time, and the vessel completed the last of the stations in the Inner Hebrides before returning to Aberdeen.
The post News from our Scotia crew appeared first on Marine Scotland.
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TweetThe Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups (RIFGs) aim to improve the management of inshore fisheries in the 0-12 nautical mile zone of Scottish waters, and to give commercial inshore fishermen a strong voice in wider marine management developments.
