A proposal for the management of the north Irish Sea razor clam

fishery

Developed by the North Irish Sea Razor Fishermen's organisation

Background

The North Irish Sea Razor Fishermen's Organisation includes razor clam fishermen operating out of

ports from Dublin, Meath and Louth. The group is concerned about the management of the razor

clam stocks and the future viability of the fishery, in the north Irish Sea, as a result of recent

increases in fishing effort brought about by an expansion in market demand. The fishery is currently

profitable but is unlikely to be sustainable given that there is no input (effort) or output (catch)

control in place. This proposal provides some background information on the issues facing the

fishery and proposes a number of measures that provide a first step towards planning for a

sustainable future for the fishery.

Advice was obtained from the Marine Institute and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority in

developing this proposal

The fishery

The Razor clam fishery in the north Irish Sea has been operating since 1997. The fishery occurs in

shallow water from low water mark to a depth of approximately 14m but usually between 5-lOm.

The value of the fishery has increased in recent years due to increased market demand and price.

Landings into ports between Dublin and Louth were 475 tonnes in 2013 with an approximate first

sale value of €2.1million. The fishery currently supports approximately 32 vessels (at least 64 people

in the catching sector) and a significant number of jobs in processing and transport.

The fishery currently faces a number of issues

1. The fishery occurs at the borders or in proximity to a number of SACs and SPAs in the north

Irish sea and occurs within Dundalk Bay SPA (Figure 1). The fishing method may lead to

changes in the fauna and structure and function of habitats. The fishery targets razor clams

but has a significant by-catch of other bi-valves. Some of these species may be important

prey species for seabirds including Common Scoter which is a qualifying interest species in

Dundalk and at SPAs in the South Irish Sea which also has a razor clam fishery operating east

of Wexford Harbour.

2. Catch rates have declined in most razor clam beds in recent years. Evidence comes from two

sources; private vessel diary information for a limited number of years and shellfish

gatherers and purchase information from buyers (source: SFPA)

a. Catch rates declined from between 40-80kgs.hr to between 20-40kgs.hr"* between

1998 and 2004. Industry evidence indicates that catch rates are now lower although

the capacity of the fleet to fish down the stock is ultimately limited by economics i.e.

catch rates become economic below a given level at a given market price. However,

as market price has increased substantially lower catch rates are economic (Figure 2)

b. The daily volume of clams sold by vessels has declined. The weight of daily

consignments is a reflection of the daily catch rates at sea and the ability of the

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vessel to find and catch patches of clams. The 1999-2002 data shows a range in daily

landings from 60-1060kgs with the majority of records between 300-660kgs. The

2013 data shows a much more restricted range in landings from 20-660kgs but with

the vast majority of records between 120-360kgs (Figure 3)

3. The microbiological classification of the fishing area determines if the stock can be fished

and also the market price. Fish from areas classified as A (low microbiological loading)

currently fetch €5.20 per kg while fish from B waters fetch €3.20. Traceability to the

classified area (the location of fishing) is important for processors and exporters and this

information may be sought by buyers in the international market

4. Fishing effort is increasing. Although a number of years ago the fishery was constrained by a

limited market recent development of a market in China has seen an escalation in price and

a significant demand for product. There is no market constraint on the fishery at present. As

a result of increased prices (and profitability) a number of new vessels have entered the

fishery. There are now approximately 32 vessels fishing.

The Management Proposal

1. Scope of the management proposals a. These proposals refer to the Irish Sea razor fishery north of Dublin Bay b. Ideally given the critical status of stocks and the increasing effort the proposals would be

implemented before mid-2014.

2. Weekly TAC a. Details

i. 1400 kg (live weight) per week over a six day week fishery (to be included in S.I) ii. The 6 days would run from Sun midnight to Sat midnight (to be included in S.I)

iii. The quota wouid be for 1 week with no roll over to subsequent weeks (to be included in S.I)

b. The likely effect i. Approximately 3% of weekly consignments in 2013 were above 1400kgs. This is

for a subset of vessels only. ii. Although the 1400kg weekly TAC is unlikely to dramatically reduce landings or

constrain activity it puts in place a limit that does put a brake on landings and prevents further escalation although additional vessels can still enter the fishery. If the number of vessels participating in the fishery increases significantly the TAC would be reviewed.

3. Closed season a. Details

i. Fishery to close for 4 weeks during summer during the spawning season when clam quality is low

ii. Closing and re-opening wouid be determined by agreement in the first year and based on changes in clam quality related to spawning.

iii. In subsequent years when there was increased traceability of fishing location and landings different closing dates could operate on different beds

b. The likely effect

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i. The closed season would be agreed without recourse to legislation. This could be reviewed

ii. No landings would occur for 4 weeks in the first year (2014). In subsequent years rotational closure may be possible so that there is continued supply to the market. In any case buyers now will refuse consignments that are presented if the clams are spawning.

iii. Annual fishing mortality is expected to decline as a result of closing for 1 month

4. Closed areas a. Details

i. Individual beds would be closed for a period of time if catch rates declined to 7kgs.hr"* to allow the clam bed to recover

ii. The beds would re-open when survey catch rates, conducted on a commercial vessel, showed potential catch rates of 15kg.hr"*.

b. The likely effect i. This proposal would prevent heavy depletion from occurring and would reduce

recovery time (other species occupy habitat vacated by the removal of razor clams and recovery may be protracted if this change in species composition occurs)

ii. New surveys would be needed to monitor recovery iii. This proposal is only possible if data provision is significantly improved as

detailed in proposal 5 below.

5. Information and monitoring a. Details

i. The Gatherers Document to be submitted within 48 hours of landing (to be included in S.I)

ii. Vessels under 10m would undertake to complete an Inshore Logbook so that all quota could be tracked {to be included in S.I)

iii. SFPA to manage the Inshore Logbook and gatherers documents iv. Vessels operating in the fishery would be tracked using GPS devices

1. Vessels entering Dundalk Bay SPA will be required to carry these devices {to be included in S.I.)

b. The likely effect i. Improved data on landings

ii. Information can be used to develop a catch rate indicator and used to monitor stock status

iii. Vessel tracking - Food safety and traceability: Buyers often want information on the vessel and

the fishing location. With the proposed system a vessel owner could allow the buyer access to a password protected web site where the buyer could see historic and real time fishing operations by the vessel. This is a marketing tool

- Logbook data coupled to GPS fishing position will be used to provide data on total outtake from individual beds and to map stock distribution and status (using a spatially resolved catch rate indicator)

- Razor clam fishing occurs in Natura 2000 sites (SACs, SPAs) or very close to the border of these sites. As most razor fishing is not within the sites then they can be excluded from the appropriate or risk assessments and those that are in the SACs can be shown to have a limited 'footprint' or to occur in a limited area (eg

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Duneany point fishery in Dundallc Bay SPA. The GPS data is very important for ongoing monitoring of this fishery in relation to its proximity or encroachment onto SAC habitats.

- The traclcing technology w/ill be supplied by Succourfish. Some units can be provided as a pilot project by the M l . Ongoing costs (transmission of data over the GSM netw/ork) are low (€100-200 per year) and will be borne by the vessel operators. Vessel owners will have access to their data over the w/ww. M l and SFPA will have access to fleet data for monitoring purposes.

- Voluntary participation in this aspect of the proposal will be over 50%. It is not necessary to legislate at this point.

6. Review

a. The management proposals included here should be reviewed after 6 months and

annually thereafter.

i. A number of proposals rely on voluntary participation. If this is not working then

legislative support may be needed.

ii. Stocks are already depleted and the proposals may be insufficient to guarantee

the future sustainability of the fishery. Additional data will be obtained during

the first 6 months of the plan

iii. The proposals do not include limiting entry to the fishery. Obviously the

potentially beneficial effect of the TAC on fishing mortality can be negated by

entry of more vessels to the fishery. If this happens then the TAC and the

possible need for limited entry should be reviewed.

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" 7 \ CvinQford Lough

Drogheda

Figure 1. The general location of the razor fishery in the north Irish sea in relation to SACs and

SPAs. Shaded areas are areas approved for production of razor clams. These have recently been

adjusted and now form a continuous area from Howth to Dundalk.

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- : , . J l , i i

mr tm im 2m 2m 2m sm sm 30(a

Figure 2. Catch rate data from vessel diaries in the period 1998-2004 (source: two vessels

operating in the north Irish Sea)

. l l Jl J i l l l i l i i l i 1 III

o o o o o U5 IN 00 ^

T-I »H (N

O O O O l£> (N m ro t 48

0

540

600

660

720

780

840

900

960

1020

• 2013

m 1999-2002

Daily consignment (sales)

Figure 3. Daily consignment (landings and sales) data from gatherers dockets and processor

records In 1999-2002 compared to 2013 (source: SFPA)

Figure 4. Weekly landings by vessels in 2013 and the cumulative frequency distribution of

consignments (bottom). These data suggest that the proposed TAC will affect 3% of landings.

Date:

North Irish Sea Razor Clam Committee

Ms. Ron! Crowley Marine Agencies and Programmes Division Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine Clonakilty Co Cork Sept 4th 2014

Dear Ms. Crowley

Re: Consultation on the proposal for the management of razor clams in the north Irish Sea

Thank you for your email of May 19̂ *̂ requesting further information on the level of consultation we undertook in developing the razor clam proposal. During development of the proposal fishermen representing different ports in the area consulted with all active razor clam fishermen in each port. These representatives are as follows and can verify the level of support among fishermen in the respective ports

Howth: Leo Melia Loughshinny: Joseph Fanning Balbriggan: Martin Guildea Skerries; Kevan Phillips Clogherhead: Martin Hoey Dundaik: Vincent Mulligan

All fishermen in Dundaik and Clogherhead (approximately 12 and 15 respectively) were in favour ofthe proposal. In Balbriggan 7-8 boats (5 owners) were consulted and all agreed with the proposal. Loughshinny (2 boats), Sken-les (6 boats), Howth (3 boats) are all in favour.

We know of 1 or 2 fishermen who have some concerns about the proposal for various reasons; they already take more than the proposed weekly quota or they may not be active in the fishery.

As far as we are aware none of the razor clam vessels are members of the POs and we have not consulted the POs on this proposal.

We are aware that some of the processors have complained. However, we don't think they are objecting to the measures in the proposal as none of these measures will have any significant effects on their businesses. In our view future supply of product to the processors depends on taking some action now to manage the fishery.

It is our intention to nominate a person or persons to the Regional Inshore Forum for the north east coast. We have recently been awarded a grant .