Nephrops

Clyde cod recovery and the bycatch problem

18 February 2022

This week an annual seasonal closure to protect spawning cod has come into force in the Clyde. Proposed measures to protect cod have courted controversy and the Scottish Government has u-turned on their plans, apparently to appease commercial trawl fishing interests. We share evidence of cod bycatch within the Nephrops trawl fleet that calls into question the recent decision that allows trawling to continue within a closure designed to protect spawning cod.

The Clyde cod population, which once underpinned a thriving fishery, remains in a state of collapse due in part to severe overfishing in the 1980s and 90s. The spawning stock biomass for cod is estimated to be at its lowest in recorded history.

For the past 20 years the annual seasonal spawning closure, designed to safeguard cod while they spawn, has included a number of exemptions. This has meant that [Read more…]

Open Seas’ concern about Fishery Improvement Projects, and greenwash

4 July 2021

Having worked on sustainability concerns regarding destructive scallop and scampi fisheries for the past five years we have sadly arrived at the point where we are now unconvinced that the industry and government are able to resolve them.

We are now recommending consumers take more concerted public action to put pressure on the sourcing of some of the most environmentally damaging fisheries operating around Scotland and the UK. That is why this month we have launched the #EndSeafoodGreenwash campaign.

We’re hoping to empower people who love our seas and seafood to send a clear message to seafood companies that they have an urgent role to play in halting environmental harm in our seas caused by the products they sell.

Scottish scallop and scampi fisheries have had serious [Read more…]

Prawn potential: the benefits of more sustainable seafood

27 July 2017

A new industry report is shedding light on the economic and environmental opportunities and consequences of fishing for prawns in our inshore waters. It’s part of a broader story of regulatory inertia and environmental decline in our inshore fisheries. However, debate is now growing around the case for spatial management as a way to restore more sustainable fishing and rural employment in Scotland.

Prawns are a big deal for Scotland. ‘Nephrops’ are large orange-pink prawns sometimes called Dublin Bay prawns, langoustine and scampi. Back in the 1960s only a few tonnes were landed each year, but it is now our second most valuable stock, worth £79m.

Unfortunately, the emergence of this fishery has come at an environmental cost. People want [Read more…]