To meet the growing demand for sustainable seafood, stakeholders in the United Kingdom’s GPB 40 million scallop industry have pledged to develop a code of conduct.
The move to create a code of practices for “seabed friendly” scallops follows increased scrutiny by environmentalists concerned about the impact scallop dredging has on sensitive seabed habitats and species.
“Much of the argument centers on dredged versus hand-caught. But there is a third way; responsibly dredged scallops have a minimal impact on the habitat,” Dr. Tom Pickerell, director of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain, told SeafoodSource.
Implicit in the move to design a code of conduct for scallop fisheries is the fear of market loss. If scallop fisheries fail to demonstrate responsibility, today’s buyers — particularly retailers that have made sustainable seafood commitments — will shop elsewhere for their scallops.
Currently, the gear required to dredge for scallops on the seabed is of high impact and can have an adverse effect on the seabed. King scallops from UK waters, for example, can be up to 15 centimeters across, with harvesters using gear to dig them up. In response to concerns over the impact of dredging, UK fishing grounds in Lyme Bay, the Firth of Lorn and most recently Cardigan Bay have been closed to protect the resource.
Hand-caught scallops harvested by divers are the alternative, and as consumer calls for sustainable seafood grow, so has the market for these hand-caught scallops.
According to Pickerell, mapping out a “third way” for scallop harvesting will see stakeholders, including scientists, industry and environmentalists, huddle together to develop a code of conduct that will promote sustainable scallop fisheries while “affording adequate protection to sensitive seabed habitats and species.”
“Through the scallop strategy group set up 18 months ago, we have stakeholders in place to offer input on the code of conduct. How do you gauge an acceptable footprint? This is why we’re working with environmentalists,” said Pickerell.
The strategy group recently appointed Dr. Andrew Woolmer to develop the code, and over the next six months he will review current practices and identify changes to them resulting in a more responsible fishery. The group is looking at designing gear with less of an environmental impact, among other things.
“This will include fishermen undertaking many of the stock sampling duties themselves to ensure that data is available to scientists,” said Woolmer.
When asked about the key challenges to drawing up the code, Pickerell said: “People being unrealistic. Either industry not being keen or environmentalists asking for too much.”
“We should look at the seabed like land,” he added. “There must be a balance between areas for food and those for conservation. It will be in the interest of scallop fishermen to sign up for the code.”
