Fisheries colleagues from around the Irish Sea are working together to address the issue of depleted queen scallops stocks.
The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) has made the difficult decision to restrict the number of queenies that can be landed from the territorial sea for a second year in a row after stock levels, already worrying low, fell still further in the last year.
The University of Bangor confirmed the decline after sampling a record number of sites during its annual survey.
The total allowable catch for the 2015 queenie fishing season will be 1,000 tonnes.
The queenie fishing season runs from early summer until the catch, set by DEFA annually, is reached.
Last year a catch of only 1,000 tonnes was permitted and fishing was restricted to certain days of the week, while a curfew and daily allowances were imposed. Some queenie beds were closed entirely to allow stocks to recover. Skippers were obliged to fill out daily catch reports and carry data loggers so the catch could be carefully monitored.
Similar restrictions will apply this year, with a mid-season break to assess how the fishery is performing, with the possibility of the permitted catch being revised.
In setting the catch, DEFA seeks advice from the Queen Scallop Management Board, which comprises scientists and representatives of the catching and processing sectors from the Isle of Man, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Richard Ronan MHK, Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture, said: ‘The queenie is economically vital to the Island and symbolises worldwide all that’s good about Manx food and drink.
‘We fully appreciate the effect a second restricted catch will have on fishermen, producers and the supply chain and have faced a difficult decision.
‘We have to balance the effect on the economy that restricting scallops has with the very real threat that if we don’t allow stock to recover, they could be so depleted that there is no long-term future for this industry.
‘DEFA can’t control the catch outside the Island’s territorial sea and an increase in fishing effort impacts on breeding throughout the Irish Sea’, the Minister said.
‘Long-term data, established over many years of surveying by the Port Erin Marine Laboratory and now Bangor University is giving us a better picture than ever about the breeding of scallops and about stock levels.
‘Locally, we are already working much more closely with the industry through our newly established Science Steering Group, which has representatives of DEFA, the potting industry, scallop fishermen and the Manx Fish Producers’ Organisation (MFPO).
‘We are also working in conjunction with neighbouring jurisdictions and the wider fishing industry to examine effective means of safeguarding the queen scallop fishery across the northern Irish Sea while protecting the livelihood of those who have fished for queenies in this area for many years.’
Last year, 33 vessels fished for queenies in Manx waters.
This year’s queenie fishing season will start on 1st July.
