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Extract from Spring 2002 Sea Fish Industry Authority (SFIA) newsletter
Search for net solution
A £33,000 multi-partner project has been launched to develop an escape hatch for dolphins and other cetaceans caught in trawls in the western English Channel.
The project, funded by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (), is being co-ordinated by the Sea Mammal Research Unit and is aimed at reducing the by-catch in the midwater pelagic fishery.
Researchers from Seafish in Hull carried out initial scale model trials in the Seafish Flume Tank and then manufactured an experimental escape grid based on a design by the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research.
The slanted grid is incorporated near the narrow, back end of the trawl, known as the cod-end, and it is designed to direct a captured dolphin out through an escape panel in the top of the net.
The new grid has just been tested by a Scottish pair team fishing for bass off the southwest coast and video footage from cameras attached to the trawls is now being analysed to assess the effectiveness of the escape system.
"UK fishermen have been instrumental in helping the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs look for a solution to this problem," says Elliot Morley, Fisheries Minister. "This trial is extremely important. If it is successful, we will not only have research data to present to the European Commission showing where and when the by-catch problem is occurring in UK waters but also a solution that could be implemented by the EU for all vessels in the offshore bass fishery, where a major by-catch problem has been identified."
Derek Duthie of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen's Association is praising the industry for throwing its full weight behind measures to protect dolphins.
"The industry takes its environmental responsibilities seriously and has been active in
collaborating with scientists to assess the nature and scale of the problem over several years," says Derek. "Extensive monitoring has confirmed what we already knew; that cetacean by-catch is not an issue in the main UK pelagic fisheries. A problem has, however, been identified when fishing for sea bass and we have been trying to find a solution to this one small area of operation. The development of the exclusion grid will, we hope, provide the answer."
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