The European Fisheries Fund (EFF), Marine Management Organization (MMO) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on Wednesday announced that they are providing over GBP 300,000 toward two projects aiming to help reduce fish discards.
Awarded to scientists from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), the funding is being used toward helping fishermen in the southwest and northwest adapt their fishing equipment and make it more selective.
In Cornwall, 19 skippers of otter trawlers have collaborated with Cefas scientists to design and test modified trawl equipment, which aims to reduce discards of dab, gurnards, plaice, dogfish and whiting. Supported by a GBP 100,000 EFF grant, the project is due to finish this summer.
In Cumbria and Lancashire, another GBP 100,000 EFF grant is being used to allow local fishermen and net makers to develop modified trawl equipment that will help reduce the number of juvenile flatfish, such as plaice, discarded during prawn fishing.
Cefas scientists working on both projects will record and investigate the impact and effectiveness of the new gear in comparison with traditional fishing methods. They will use a mixture of techniques to obtain information about the fishermen’s catch, including onboard observers and CCTV recording equipment.
