Scientific evidence to underpin understanding of best practices in utilisation of marine fisheries resources

Description of impact

Scientific evidence to underpin understanding of best practices in utilisation of marine fisheries resources

The impact is realised at an international and national level across several areas:

1) Development of models based on empirical data to inform international and national policy and management of the impacts of bottom-fishing gear to understand the trade-offs between food production and environment impacts on the marine environment.

These models have been developed into tools for Seafish (completed 69k contract R28 G27 - to inform their Risk Assessment for Sourcing Seafood guide which is utilised by seafood processors and retailers) and for the Marine Stewardship Council to help certificaton assessment bodies to assess Principle 2 of the MSC standard for towed bottom fishing gears (current 156k contract R28 C09 - under development and due for completion by 2019).

These organisations are nationally and internationally important. Seafish represents the entire seafood production chain in the UK while c 13% of globally landed fish are MSC certified at present. We ran a 2 day workshop on use of the Seafish tool which was attended by 25 individuals from management and policy organisations (Natural Resources Wales, Marine Management Organisation, Natural England, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Devon and Severn IFCA, Eastern IFCA, Marine Stewardship Council, Seafish) with positive feedback (workshop report with feedback retained). The FAO is also strongly supportive of our approach to assessing fishing impacts in an objective manner and have coauthored some of the key papers underpinning the impact outputs.

2) Innovation to improve the performance of small-scale fisheries

Our research group specialises in provision of management science and advise in small-scale fisheries which are typically data-poor. To address data gaps and to improve management we have developed several innovations which are now in active use. We have designed and implemented camera systems that remove the need for human observers of fishing vessels. This has increased the coverage of fisheries data observation allowing simultaneous observations to be collected across a wide range of locations in the Isle of Man brown crab fishery. The cameras record catch identify, sex, size, bycatch, discarding and retention of catch. In the Isle of Man scallop and static gear fisheries we have developed App based log books which gather data on a daily basis that is geospatially resolved and captured in real-time. This is critical since we have now implemented catch quotas based on our science underpinning our stock assessment for the king and queen scallop fisheries. The App development enables realtime monitoring of fleet performance and progress towards TAC thresholds. This has enabled fisheries policy together with industry to modify daily catch limits to moderate the fishing activity. Additional grant proposals (European Maritime Fishery Fund) will extend the use of these systems to Wales and Devon (forthcoming). Our science provision is also key in the implementation of a territorial use rights fisheries in the Isle of Man which has led to a fishery that outperforms by x10 the environmental footprint (Energy Return on Investment) of the surrounding open access fishery and results in fishery that is more efficient in terms of protein production than beef, pig and egg production.
Practical impacts are as follows:
First utilised stock assessment for king scallop in the UK (or anywhere in Europe) with adopted quota and active management.
Increase in Minimum Landing Size for Whelks in both Wales and the Isle of Man based on our science.
Adoption of temporary closed areas based on our science in the Isle of Man.
Our science underpinning management decisions made in relation to the Ramsay Bay territorial user rights fishery in the Isle of Man.

3) Disruptive technology to reduce bycatch.

There is considerable interest in reducing unwanted bycatch in fisheries globally, but this is now more pressing due to the implementation of the EU landings obligation in 2019 that will require all vessels to retain all bycatch of certain species. This has spawned a science area known as the use of disruptive technology. We have investigated this through a partnership with SNtech Ltd who manufacture UW LED lights for use on trawls. Recent commercial trials in the Isle of Man reduced the bycatch of haddock by 80%. Further testing may lead to full adoption by industry over the next few years.

Impact Summary for the General Public

Our research has influenced international and national policy and behaviour to improve the sustainability and environmental performance of fishing activities to harvest seafood from the sea.

Description of the underpinning research

Broken down bullet points above:

1) Builds on previous REF impact case study but taking this forward leading to step change in scientific understanding and prediction of effects. Underpinning papers published since last REF listed below, include a research prioritization exercise and a separate systematic review and meta-analysis published in IF 8.5 journal – research priorities addressed in research. Model based on empirical observations that are derived from the systematic review were published in PNAS.

2) This area is supported by annual stock assessment reports published on-line, together with a paper on the use of camera systems (IF 2.6) and a paper submitted to Conservation Letters (IF 8.7) dealing with the TURF system.

3) Report of trials of disruptive technology published in two MSc theses, of which one will be published in an IF 2.6 journal. Paper will show convincing evidence of large reduction in bycatch but also highlights that the strength of this effect is environment dependent (i.e. maximised in the dark).

Beneficiaries and reach of impact

Consumers of seafood, policy makers and managers with responsiblility for the implementation of policy and management objectives aimed at sustainable harvesting practices in the marine environment.

General Notes

Contracts awarded. Adoption of tools by certification bodies. In vivo use of camera system which is TR6 ready technology and current implemented in a sentinel fleet of fishing vessels in the Isle of Man.
Kaiser invited to speak to FAO in 2016 about trawl impact database and tools in relation to deep sea fisheries – meeting reports directly to General Assembly of the U.N. Kaiser also gave three talks on use of the MSC tool at the IMPAC4 meeting in Chile sponsored by the IUCN and FAO. Kaiser also invited as delegate to the CBD 2018 meeting in Montreal.

Impact status	Ongoing
Category of impact	Environmental, Economic, Policy and Public Services
Impact level	Adoption