Foreword by Jim Evans

The Welsh Fishermen’s Association –Cymdeithas Pysgotwyr Cymru  Ltd (WFA-CPC)  are pleased to be associated with Bangor School of Ocean Sciences and the European Fisheries Fund Project “Sustainable Use of Fisheries Resources in Welsh Waters”. The scientific surveys outlined within the Project work packages are essential to inform the future management of fisheries and the Welsh marine environment. In these uncertain times scientific evidence will be the foundation on which we can collaboratively future proof our industry.

The WFA-CPC fully supports Bangor School of Ocean Sciences  in this project, the aims and objectives including the innovative methods being developed to collect valuable data on a variety of species of importance to Wales. This includes the participation of fishermen in collecting data for stock assessments, with remote methods that capture the data neccessary without impacting on their working day. This work will be a keystone to the successful management of Welsh marine resources, an area which has historically been data deficient in Wales.

The WFA-CPC would strongly encourage industry participation in this unique opportunity to actively contribute to an extremely valuable data set that will ultimately be owned by industry and added to beyond the project term.

We would like to wish Mike Kaiser and the Bangor School of Ocean Sciences Project Team every success with this challenging undertaking.

Introduction

The Welsh fishing industry is primarily an inshore fleet with only 10% of fishers working in offshore waters (beyond six nautical miles). Consequently, this inshore fleet is dependent on the sustainability of the local stocks. This is in comparison to nomadic or offshore fleets which can operate extensively around the UK or further afield and are therefore not reliant on local sustainability. It is imperative to the livelihoods of Welsh fishers that the key species providing income to the Welsh fleet are managed sustainably. However, very little information is available on the distribution, abundance and biology of these target species in Welsh waters which makes the sustainable management of these fisheries very difficult.

This project aims to put in place a programme of scientific evidence gathering through collaboration between academics, industry and government funded bodies and policy makers and managers which will inform management decisions to work towards a truly sustainable future for Welsh fisheries.

The project relies on extensive involvement in data gathering by the fishing industry and there has been substantial expression of support from industry with scientists and fishermen working together to ensure the future of the industry.

The project is split into five work streams:

• Gathering of fishermen’s knowledge through interviews and questionnaires;
• Habitat mapping;
• Distribution and abundance of different target species;
• Connectivity of populations;
• Management and policy.

As well as working in close connection to the fishing industry this project will collaborate with the Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales (NRW), CEFAS and scientists at Aberystwyth University.

The project is funded by the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) and the Welsh Government.

 

Crustacea

Prawn update - Dec 14 (English) (Welsh)
Lobster escape hatch update - Dec 14 (English) (Welsh)
Crab & prawn report - Dec 13
Lobster escape hatch update - Dec 13
Lobster tagging preliminary report - 11 Nov 13
Juvenile crustacean habitat survey report - Dec 13

Scallop

Welsh waters scallop survey July-August 2013 - Final Draft - Report No. 30 - January 2014
Welsh waters scallop survey June 2012 - Final Draft - Report No. 21 - December 2013
Welsh scallop stock assessment survey July- August 2013 : feedback to industry

Finfish

European sea bass & ray update - Dec 14 (English) (Welsh)
European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) exploited around Welsh waters - Preliminary results: Dec 13

Whelk

Whelk report - Dec 14 (English) (Welsh)
Whelk report - Dec 13

Habitat mapping

WP2 Habitat mapping - Dec 13

Welsh fisheries

Economic performance & fleet dynamic of the Welsh fleet - Dec 14 (English) (Welsh)
Fishers' knowledge questionnaire - Dec 14 (English) (Welsh)

Newsletter

June 2013 (Welsh)
June 2013 (English)

December 2012 (Welsh)
December 2012 (English)

Monthly electronic newsletter

	April 2014 (English) April 2014 (Welsh)
	March 2014 (English) March 2014 (Welsh)
	January 2014 (English) January 2014 (Welsh)
February 2015 (English) February 2015 (Welsh)	November 2013 (English) November 2013 (Welsh)
January 2015 (English) January 2015 (Welsh)	October 2013 (English) October 2013 (Welsh)
October 2014 (English) October 2014 (Welsh)	August - September 2013 (English) August - September 2013 (Welsh)
July - September 2014 (English) July - September 2014 (Welsh)	July 2013 (English) July 2013 (Welsh)
June 2014 (English) June 2014 (Welsh)	June 2013 (English) June 2013 (Welsh)
May 2014 (English) May 2014 (Welsh)	May 2013 (English) May 2013 (Welsh)

 

Reports from a variety of previous fisheries projects can be found here

Reports Sustainable Fisheries Wales

Fisheries & Conservation Science reports

For Reports 1-13 please see "Isle of Man > reports"

14. Assessment of offshore habitats in the Cardigan Bay SAC. Report No. 14 (Part 1) – 2010
    Assessment of offshore habitats in the Cardigan Bay SAC. Report No. 14 (Part 2) – 2010
15. See "Isle of Man > reports"
16. See "Isle of Man > reports"
17. See "Isle of Man > reports"
18. See "Isle of Man > reports"
19. See "Isle of Man > reports"
20. See "Isle of Man > reports"
21. Welsh waters scallop survey June 2012 - Final Draft - Report No. 21 - December 2013
22. See "Isle of Man > reports"
23. Habitat assessment of the area of the Cardigan Bay SAC proposed for a fishing intensity experiment. Report No. 23 - June 2013
24. Sustainable Use of Fisheries Resources in Welsh Waters: Interim Report No. 24 - May 2013
25. See "Isle of Man > reports"
26. Size distribution of the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) caught around Welsh waters. Preliminary results of the first sampling months (May-August 2013). Report No. 26 - August 2013
27. Variations in the abundance and spatial distribution of Palaemon serratus (Decapoda: Palaemonidae) in the littoral Zone of South Wales. MSc thesis. Report No. 27 - September 2013
28. Taxonomic and functional recovery of epifauna after the permanent closure of an area of the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Wales, to a scallop dredge fishery. MSc thesis. Report No. 28 - September 2013
29. Investigating the abundance, distribution and habitat use of juvenile Cancer pagurus (L.) of the intertidal zone around Anglesey and Llŷn Peninsula, North Wales (UK). MSc thesis. Report No. 29 - October 2013
30. Welsh waters scallop survey July-August 2013 - Final Draft - Report No. 30 - January 2014
31. -
32. See "Isle of Man > reports"
33. See "Isle of Man > reports"
34. See "Isle of Man > reports"
35. See "Isle of Man > reports"
36. See "Isle of Man > reports"
37. See "Isle of Man > reports"
38. CBFA report: The Common Prawn (Palaemon serratus) Literature Review. Report No. 38
39. Cardigan Bay Palaemon serratus fishery report 2013-2014
40. See "Isle of Man > reports"
41. Status of scallop populations in Welsh waters - Results of 3 years of research surveys 2012-2014. Report No.41 - January 2015
42. The Inshore Fisheries of Wales: a study based on fishers' ecological knowledge. Report No. 42 - March 2015
43. Economic performance and fishing strategies of the Welsh coastal fleet. Report No. 43 - March 2015
44. Escape Gap Study in Cardigan Bay: consequences of using lobster escape gaps. A Preliminary Report. Report No. 44. - May 2015
45. See "Other projects > reports"
46. See "Other projects > reports"
47. See "Other projects > reports"
48. Sustainable fisheries in Wales Progress report
49. Fecundity of Cancer pagurus in Welsh waters, a comparison with published literature
50. The size at maturity for the common whelk, Buccinum undatum in Welsh waters, with an industry perspective on minimum landing sizes
51. Size at maturity of the edible crab (Cancer pagurus) in Welsh waters
52. Socioeconomic and spatial review of recreational sea angling in Wales
53. CBFA report: The common prawn fishery: a report on the monitoring of Palaemon serratus in Cardigan Bay between 2013 and 2015
54. CBFA report: Recruitment patterns of the common prawn (Palaemon serratus) in Welsh waters
55. CBFA report: Evaluating the Cardigan Bay common prawn fishery against MSC principles. A report for the Cardigan Bay Fisherman's Association. (This report contains commercially sensitive information and so is not available online)
56. Population dynamics of the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in Welsh waters and management implications. Report No. 56 - May 2015
57. The spawning of king scallop, Pecten maximus, in Welsh waters - a preliminary study
58. See "Isle of Man > reports"
59. Cardigan Bay Fishing Intensity study - Infauna
60. Cardigan Bay Fishing Intensity study - Physical
61. Cardigan Bay Fishing Intensity study - Epifauna
62. See "Isle of Man > reports"
63. Implementing parallel-paired lasers in on board camera systems for data collection in crustacean fisheries
64. See "Isle of Man > reports"
65. See "Isle of Man > reports"
66. See "Isle of Man > reports"
67. See "Isle of Man > reports"
68. See "Other Projects > reports"
69. See "Other Projects > reports"
70. See "Isle of Man > reports"
71. See "Isle of Man > reports"

Other

• ICES WGCRAB 2012 Report - Report of the Working Group on the biology and life history of crabs
• Evaluating sites sampled in June 2010 within Cardigan Bay with respect to ‘stony reef’ criteria outlined by JNCC
• Beadman, H. (2003). Impacts of mussel seabed-lay bottom cultivation, with special reference to the Menai Strait and Conwy Bay candidate Special Area of Conservation. CCW Contract No. FC 73-02-257, University of Wales Bangor
• Rees, E.I.S., Dare, P., Dolmer, P., & Smaal, A.C. (2003). Peer review of a CCW commissioned report: Beadman, H. (2003): Impacts of mussel seabed-lay bottom cultivation, with special reference to the Menai Strait and Conwy Bay candidate Special Area of Conservation. CCW Contract No. FC
  73-02-90D, University of Wales Bangor
• Saurel, C., Gascoigne,  J., & Kaiser, M.J. (June 2004). The ecology of seed mussel beds: literature review, SEAFISH
• Morris, E.S., Goudge, H., & Duce, C. (2007). An introductory review of the biology and population dynamics of the green shore crab, Carcinus maenas, in the UK, with special reference to the Menai Strait. CCW Policy Research Report 07/18
• North Menai Strait Mussel Fishery (Mytilus edulis) Annual surveillance report - November 2011
• Sustainable Use of Fisheries Resources in Welsh Waters: Interim Report - September 2012

Presentations

• Sustainable use of fisheries resources in welsh waters - 2 Dec 2013: Aberystwyth: SUAG meeting
• Fisheries science in welsh waters: a collaborative approach between fishers and scientists - Feb 2013: Inshore Fisheries Group (IFG) meeting
• Pre-assessment - Prior to fishing experiment - Jan 2013: Scallop group meeting
• The impact of pot fishing on the marine environment - Jan 2013: Llŷn Peninsula
• Sea bass fisheries - Jan 2013: West Wales Shell Fisherman's Association (WWSFA) meeting
• Presentation for the Wildlife forum Anglesey - Dec 2012
• Fisheries science in welsh waters: a collaborative approach between fishers and scientists - Nov 2012: Llŷn Peninsula
• Static gear fisheries - Nov 2012: Llŷn Pot Fisherman's Association (LLPFA) meeting
• Fisheries research in welsh waters - Nov 2012: Cardigan Bay Fisherman's Association (CBFA) meeting, Aberystwyth
• Presentation for Welsh Assembly Government (WAG): Sustainable use of fisheries resources in welsh waters - Nov 2012
• Project overview: Sustainable use of fisheries resources in welsh waters -7 Sept 2012: Aberystwyth : SUAG meeting
• Welsh scallop survey June 2012 - July 2012
• Sustainable resource management - Dec 2011
• Assessment of offshore habitats in the Cardigan Bay SAC - May 2010
• Habitat mapping - June 2010

Publications

• Natalie Hold, Lee G. Murray, Julia R. Pantin, Jodie A. Haig, Hilmar Hinz and Michel J. Kaiser (2015). Video capture of crustacean fisheries data as an alternative to on-board observers. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 72 (6): 1811-1821

• Hinz, H., Murray, L.G., Lambert, G.I., Hiddink, J.G. and Kaiser, M.J. (2013) Confidentiality over fishing effort data threatens science and management progress. Fish and Fisheries, 14: 110-117.

• Lambert, G.; Jennings, S.; Hinz, H.; Murray, L.G.; Parrott, L.; Kaiser, M.; Hiddink, J. (2012) A comparison of two techniques for the rapid assessment of marine habitat complexity. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 4, 226-235.

• Lambert, G.; Jennings, S.; Hiddink, J., Hintzen, N.T., Hinz, H., Kaiser, M.J., Murray, L.G.(2012). Implications of using alternative methods of vessel monitoring system (VMS) data analysis to describe fishing activities and impacts, ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69 (4): 682-693 .

• Lambert, G., Jennings, S.,Kaiser, M.J.,Hinz, H., Hiddink, J. (2011). Quantification and prediction of the impact of fishing on epifaunal communities, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 430: 71-86.

ECONOMICS

• Ruiz-Frau, A., Edwards-Jones, G., Kaiser, M. J. (2011). Mapping stakeholder values for coastal zone management, Marine Ecology Progress Series 430: 71-86
• Ruiz-Frau, A., Hinz, H., Edwards-Jones, G., Kaiser, M. J. (In press). Spatially explicit economic assessment of cultural ecosystem services: Non-extractive recreational uses of the coastal environment related to marine biodiversity, Marine Policy.

SCALLOPS

• Murray, L.G., Hinz, H., Hold, N., Kaiser, M.J. (2013). The effectiveness of using CPUE data derived from Vessel Monitoring Systems and fisheries logbooks to estimate scallop biomass, ICES Journal of Marine Science, 6: 70.
• Szostek, C. L., Davies, A. J., Hinz, H. (2013). Effects of elevated levels of suspended particulate matter and burial on juvenile king scallops Pecten maximus, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 474: 155-156.
• Sciberras, M., Hinz, H., Bennell, J.D., Jenkins, S.R., Hawkins, S. J., Kaiser, M.J. (2013). Benthic community response to a scallop dredging closure within a dynamic seabed habitat, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 480: 83-98.
• Hold, N., Dawnay, L., Taylor, M.I. (2013). Development of microsatellite markers from 454 transcriptome derived sequences for the scallop Pecten maximus, Conservation Genetics Resources, 5: 663-666.
• Hold, N., Murray, L.G., Kaiser, M.J., Hinz, H., Beaumont, A.R., Taylor, M.I. (2012). Potential effects of stock enhancement with hatchery-reared seed on genetic diversity and effective population size, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 70: 330-338.
• Hinz, H., Murray, L..G., Malcolm, F.R., Kaiser, M.J. (2012). The environmental impacts of three different queen scallop (Aequipecten opercularis) fishing gears, Marine Environmental Research, 73: 85-95.

CRUSTACEA

• Coleman, R.A., Hoskin, M.G., Von Carlshausen, E., Davis, C.M. (2013). Using a no-take zone to assess the impacts of fishing: Sessile epifauna appear insensitive to environmental disturbances from commercial potting, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 440: 100-107
• Murray, L.G., & Seed, R. (2010). Determining whether catch per unit effort is a suitable proxy for relative crab abundance. Marine Ecology Progress Series 401: 173-182

FINFISH

• Cambiè, G., Kaiser, M. J., Marriott A. L., Fox, J., Lambert, G., Hiddink, J. G., Overy, T., Bennet, S. A., Leng, M. J., McCarthy, I. D. (2016) Stable isotope signatures reveal small-scale spatial separation in populations of European sea bass, Marine Ecology Progress Series 546: 213-223
• Richardson, E. A., Kaiser, M. J., Edwards-Jones, G., Ramsay, K. (2006). Trends in sea anglers’ catches of trophy fish in relation to stock size, Fisheries Research 82: 253-262
• Richardson, E. A., Kaiser, M. J., Edwards-Jones, G., Possingham, H. P. (2006).Sensitivity of marine-reserve design to the spatial resolution of socioeconomic data, Conservation Biology, 20: 1191 - 1202

MUSSELS

• Caldow, R.W.G., Beadman, H.A., McGrorty, S., Kaiser, M.J., Goss-Custard, J.D., Mould, K. & Wilson, A. (2003). Effects of intertidal mussel cultivation on bird assemblages, Marine Ecology Progress Series 259: 173-183
• Caldow, R.W.G., Beadman, H.A., McGrorty, S., Stillman, R.A., Goss-Custard, J.D., Durell, S.E.A. le V. dit, West, A.D., Kaiser, M.J., Mould, K. & Wilson, A. (2004).A behaviour based modelling approach to reducing shorebird-shellfish conflicts. Ecological Applications 14: 1411-1427
• Beadman, H.A., Kaiser, M.J., Galanidi, M., Shucksmith, R., & Willows, R. (2004). Changes in species richness with stocking density of marine bivalves. Journal of Applied Ecology 41: 464-475
• Tweddle, J.F., Simpson, J.H., & Janzen, C.D. (2005). Physical controls of food supply to benthic filter feeders in the Menai Strait, U.K. Marine Ecology Progress Series 289: 79-88
• Saurel, C., Gascoigne, J.C., Palmer, M., & Kaiser, M.J. (2007).In situ mussel feeding behaviour in relation to multiple environmental factors: Regulation through food concentration and tidal conditions? Limnology and Oceanography 52: 1919-1929
• Murray, L.G., Seed, R., Jones, T. (2007). Predicting the impacts of Carcinus maenas predation on cultivated Mytilus edulis beds. Journal of Shellfish Research 26: 1089-1098
• Murray, L.G., Newell, C.R., & Seed, R. (2007). Changes in the biodiversity of mussel assemblages induced by two methods of cultivation, Journal of Shellfish Research 26: 153-162
• Gallagher, T., Richardson, C.A., Seed, R., & Jones, T. (2008). The seasonal movement and abundance of the starfish Asteria rubens in relation to mussel farming practice: a case study from the Menai Strait, UK. Journal of Shellfish Research 27: 1209-1215
• Van de Koppel, J., Gascoigne, J., Theraulaz, G., Rietkerk, M., Mooij, W.M., & Herman, P.M.J. (2008). Experimental evidence for spatial self-organisation and its emergent effects in mussel bed ecosystems. Science 322: 739-742

PhD thesis

• Socioeconomic valuation of the marine environment in Wales: implications for coastal management, Ana Ruiz Frau, 2010
• The impacts of Carcinus maenas on commercial mussel beds. PhD thesis, Bangor University, Murray, L.G., 2008

MSc thesis

• Determination of the abundance and population structure of Buccinum undatum in North Wales. MSc thesis - Turtle, October 2014
• The distribution, abundance and movement of the adult whelk Buccinum undatum (L. 1758) in South Wales, UK . Msc thesis - Robson, October 2014
• Population dynamics of the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in Welsh waters. MSc thesis - October 2014
• Recreational bass angling in Wales: Approaches to data collection and the distribution of angling effort in the recreational European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) fishery. MSc thesis - Monkman, October 2013
• Investigating the abundance, distribution and habitat use of juvenile Cancer pagurus (L.) of the intertidal zone around Anglesey and Llŷn Peninsula, North Wales (UK). MSc thesis. Report No. 29 - October 2013
• Taxonomic and functional recovery of epifauna after the permanent closure of an area of the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Wales, to a scallop dredge fishery. MSc thesis. Report No. 28 - September 2013
• Variations in the abundance and spatial distribution of Palaemon serratus (Decapoda: Palaemonidae) in the littoral Zone of South Wales. MSc thesis. Report No. 27 - September 2013
• Predators of seed mussel beds at Caernarfon Bar and Morecambe Bay, UK. MSc Thesis, Bangor University, 82pp, Gregory, F.C., 2005

Press releases

• Diogelu'r cranc coch - Daily Post, Sept 13