Careful management of the queen scallop fishery to rebuild stocks and ensure sustainability is starting to pay off.

The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) has increased the permitted queenie catch for the season after a high yield of good-sized scallops from an area closed for fishing in recent years.

DEFA set a catch limit of 1,000 tonnes of queenies after sampling by scientists showed overall queenie stocks, already worrying low in 2014, had fallen further by spring 2015.

The Department has fulfilled a pledge to assess the permitted catch at the mid-season point and, based on the performance of the fishery, has increased it to 1,240 tonnes.

This catch limit will be reviewed again in three weeks’ time.

David Cretney MLC, Member of DEFA, said the majority of the scallops had been caught in a small area within a fishing ground called the Targets, off the north-west coast, and impact on stocks elsewhere has been minimal.

‘Queenie fishing has been exceptional in the Targets, with the majority of fishing taking place there and high-quality scallops being caught, with corresponding good prices,’ Mr Cretney said.

‘This specific area within the Targets has not been fished for several years. It was among the closed areas we announced last year, there was a surfeit of weed on the ground in 2013 and before then the stock was too small to fish for. This is a good example of how protecting specific areas will produce higher quality product.’

DEFA employs Bangor University to carry out a detailed stock assessment each year.

Mr Cretney said: ‘The size of queenies being landed from the Targets area confirms Bangor’s report that they are of a single, large type, nearing the end of their reproductive life, so we can allow fishing to continue without threatening future stocks there.

‘Once fishing in the Targets drops off, vessels are then expected to move to the Point of Ayre and Chickens grounds, which have only been lightly fished this season.’

The recommendation for the increased limit came from the Queen Scallop Management Board, which advises DEFA and comprises scientists and representatives of the catching and processing sectors from the Isle of Man, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The board met on Friday.

Mr Cretney said: ‘We have always acknowledged that when setting the catch, we tread a difficult line between ensuring our fishermen and fish processors can make a living and protecting the future of this economically vital fishery.

‘Despite the rich harvest at the Targets, the fishery as a whole is still in decline and DEFA is fully committed to its protection and recovery.’

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