The last few years have seen a rapid rise in the breadth and depth of rule changes, legislation and regulation heaped on the catching side of the industry - from the implementation of ILO188 to the introduction of a plethora of rules and monitoring for the very smallest vessels - which make up 80% of the fleet
This very short survey will help assess attitudes to the three main organisations that affect the lives of thousands of fishermen on a day-to-day basis. It will give a view based on data rather than the often negative responses seen on social media throughout the K.
Once you have read the information at the start, please use this chance to take the survey - there are only three main questions to answer.
Have you fished commercially or professionally in the last year? If so, then please take this survey on your personality and habits of commercial fishermen wearing personal flotation devices (PFDs) while working at sea.
This study is conducted by Jennifer Pickett and Joeri Hofmans of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. This survey will take approximately 15 minutes.
The aim of this questionnaire is to better understand a bit about you and the reasons why commercial/professional fishermen do or do not wear a PFD while on deck. The survey is anonymous and participation is voluntary and you may stop at any time without giving any reasons. I appreciate your honest answers! Stay safe and good fishing. You can email her here if you would like more information.
The difference that wearing a suitable lifejacket or PFD can make to survival and preventing death in the case of falling overboard was brought home only to vividly last month when a crew-member from a Brixham based beam trawler went over the side, at might, in heavy seas.
Remember, this winchman said he had been rescuing fishermen from the sea for over 20 years but this was the first time the casualty was live - thanks to him wearing a lifejacket.
"This is an incredible rescue story. We got the call to help just 5 minutes after the fisherman had fallen overboard. Despite horrendous weather conditions on scene with winds in excess of 60 knots, we were preparing ourselves for an extensive search and rescue operation. The fishing crew had done all the right things and even from a distance we quickly spotted the smoke marker and the life ring they had released.
"The fisherman was spotted by his crew about 40m on the starboard side of his fishing vessel, some 400m away from smoke marker position.
"We flew towards that position and saw the casualty immediately as he was wearing a reflective life jacket. We lowered our winchman into the water in very rough conditions and conducted a double winch recovery which only took about 2 minutes.
"Once on board we flew straight to Derriford Hospital and handed him over to AandE department, where we have now heard that he's doing well and in good spirits".
"I’ve been doing search and rescue for nearly 20 years and Reegan was the first fisherman I’ve taken out of the water who was conscious and alive, but he was also the first fisherman I took out of the water wearing a lifejacket." Powerful words from Winchman ‘Spike’ Hughes
Dear participant, Have you fished commercially or professionally in the last year? Then please take this survey on your personality and habits of commercial fishermen wearing personal flotation devices (PFDs) while working at sea. This study is conducted by Jennifer Pickett and Joeri Hofmans of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. This survey will take approximately 15 minutes. The goal of this questionnaire is to better understand a bit about you and the reasons why commercial/professional fishermen do or do not wear a PFD while on deck. The survey is anonymous and participation is voluntary and you may stop at any time without giving any reasons. I appreciate your honest answers! Stay safe and good fishing. https://vubpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a3nMYjZwFH8ELg9
The MMO are seeking views on the potential business impacts linked to the introduction of catch recording for all English and Welsh licensed fishing boats under 10 metres in length.
Why We Are Consulting
We want to know your views on how the introduction of catch recording requirements for under 10 metre vessels registered in England or Wales could potentially affect you and your business.
The change in the licence condition will apply to all English and Welsh licensed fishing vessels under 10 metres in length. Scottish licensed vessels already have a licence condition that mandates recording for the under 10 metre fleet and Northern Ireland will be seeking consultation responses at a later date.
The consultation is open to everyone. It will be of particular interest to owners and operators of licensed fishing boats under 10 metres in length licensed in England and Wales.
With the introduction of new safety standards introduced by the MCA on January 1st this year this survey comes at a timely moment. The new legislation includes the necessity for all fishermen to wear a PFD while working on the deck unless it has been specifically identified as not necessary - and written into the vessel's risk assessment
Dear participant, Have you fished commercially or professionally in the last year? Then please take this survey on your thoughts and habits as a commercial fishermen wearing personal flotation devices (PFDs) while working at sea. This study is conducted by Jennifer Pickett and Joeri Hofmans of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. This survey will take approximately 12 minutes.
The goal of this questionnaire is to better understand a bit about you and the reasons why commercial/professional fishermen do or do not wear a PFD while on deck. The survey is anonymous and participation is voluntary and you may stop at any time without giving any reasons. I appreciate your honest answers! Stay safe & good fishing.
This week sadly saw a timely reminder of just how important Health & Safety is on a commercial fishing vessel - and just as important is what to do if something goes wrong.
In this instance a crew member of the well know Newlyn hake netter, Ajax had his hand severely damaged when it became trapped in deck machinery. The Newquay based SAR helicopter arrived at the vessel around 4am and in very challenging weather conditions eventually secured a high-line and diver aboard. The crewman was lifted off and flown straight to Derriford hospital in Plymouth where a team of surgeons worked for 9 solid hours on the crushed fingers.
Ajax skipper Alan Dwan has this to say about all those involved in the incident:
"I decided to put this pics up in a way to say thank you to Valentia Radio, Falmouth Radio, MCA coastguard, Derriford hospital and big thank you to all the NHS doctors and nurses with what they did to save Gary's fingers - from what they were like when we last them aboard the boat is amazing. The doctors said a big say in how much his fingers were saved by the great First Aid giving by his crewmates - leech treatment on fingers now to get blood flowing, operation on Monday again to do skin grafts, but what we saw when he left the boat was all fingers lost, what I saw yesterday is unbelievable, he a strong man very positive and will be fine as he has many friends and family around him"
From Seafish
Wanted: Fishermen’s views on the best way to communicate safety messages. If you're a Fisherman, the Fishing Industry Safety Group want to hear from you.
The Fishing Industry Safety Group* (FISG), a stakeholder group working to improve the safety of fishermen at sea, is conducting market research to gather insight into the best ways of communicating with fishermen. This research will be used to inform future safety campaigns, helping FISG reach as many fishermen as possible as they aim to help improve the safety record of the UK's fishing fleet. FISG is asking vessel owners, skippers and crew to complete a short survey, which should take no more than seven minutes to complete, sharing their communication preferences - what they listen to, watch and read. The online survey is 100% anonymous and the findings will be used to create a comprehensive view of fishermen's communication preferences. Any fisherman who completes the survey by 31 December 2018 can choose to provide their contact details and they will be entered into a prize draw to win £100 worth of vouchers for a number of high street and online retailers. FISG brings together the fishing industry alongside representatives from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), Seafish and other stakeholders to discuss the factors affecting fishing safety and identify ways to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and vessel losses. Simon Potten, Head of Safety and Training at Seafish, said: "We want every fisherman to be aware of what the FISG is doing to help them work safely, whether it's information on the latest safety equipment, guidance on new safe working practices or information on what training opportunities are available to them. FISG works tirelessly to improve fishing safety, but struggles to engage with working fishermen. This research will help us understand where fishermen get their information, so that FISG safety messages can be communicated more effectively in future." To complete the survey, please click here.
Welcome to the 2018 Bass Survey for Sea Bass Fisheries Conservation UK (SBFC UK).
Please read the following information before starting the survey. All fishers, both recreational and commercial across the UK (excluding Scotland) can take part in this survey. If you are not a fisher, please email us for further details on how you can contribute. SBFC UK is a project tasked with describing sea bass fisheries on a regional level to help improve future sea bass conservation and management. This survey allows us to complete that description by gathering information directly from you, we will collate this evidence to create an accurate picture of regional sea bass fisheries in the UK. We also want to underline where data gaps are to help prioritise our science to best suit the needs of fishers in each region. We hope to address these data gaps through fisher-led data collection and collaborations, email us for more details.
Once you've completed the survey, please feel free to share this survey using the link: https://tinyurl.com/SBFC-UK-Bass-Survey-2018 Important guidelines: This is a confidential survey and will take approximately 10-15 minutes. Only one entry can be submitted per person, to enter for more than one individual, using one device, please contact us. You can go back and edit your responses until you exit the survey by selecting "Go Back". You cannot save your progress between sessions, so please complete the survey before exiting. You can keep an eye on your progress with the progress bar at the bottom of each page. This survey closes on the 31st December 2018 at 23:59. Thank you for your participation! If you experience any issues please email sbfc@cefas.co.uk.
Seafish have published their 2018-2019 Annual Plan. Reading the plan will give vessel owners, skippers and others a chance to focus and formulate any questions they may have about their futures. Seafish currently have an online survey page that they hope will give them a much better picture of the state of the industry today. Everyone and anyone in the industry who feels they either have something to say or questions that they feel need asking should complete the survey:
Vessel owners and skippers around the UK are being asked to participate in UK-wide research aiming to paint a clear picture of the performance of the fishing fleet. Researchers from Seafish, the public body that supports the £10 billion UK seafood industry, will be travelling the length and breadth of the UK’s coastline gathering data on the financial and operational performance of the industry. With a changing political environment, increasing weather variability and a public focus on sustainable and responsibly sourced seafood, researchers will canvas fishermen on how they see the industry, its future and the challenges they face. There’s hope the 2018 Fleet Survey will reveal more positive news for the fishing industry after a strong performance in 2017 which saw total fishing income for UK vessels rising by £38 million. This was mainly driven by higher prices for many shellfish species. Despite a rise in income, many fishermen highlighted the availability of fish, access to quota, fuel price, weather and other issues as potential threats to their businesses and their financial performance. Read more: Icelandic Brexit boost as seafood relations look set to deepen with the Humber The findings from the Fleet Survey, to be published in 2019, have the potential to influence policy and give an accurate insight into the health of the fishing industry. With the UK set to exit the EU next year, it is crucial skippers and vessel owners have their say on the state of the industry. Steve Lawrence, Economics Project Manager at Seafish, said: “It’s vital we paint an accurate picture of the economic performance of the fishing industry and find out the biggest achievements and challenges fishers have met over the past year. This insight means we can keep all those involved in the sector fully informed on the health of the fleet. The report is also made available to policy makers and it is a good opportunity for fishermen to voice their opinion on the big issues affecting them.” “We had a great response to last year’s survey, with over 400 skippers and vessel owners taking part. We hope to increase the number of people we speak to this year so that the insight we gather is as accurate as possible. “We appreciate the continued support of the fishing industry across the UK and encourage all skippers and vessel owners to speak to our researchers. If we don’t hear from you then we aren’t able to promote your achievements and concerns to decision makers.” Read more: One in five fish processing workers could be hit by hard Brexit - Seafish All vessel owners can benefit directly from participation by requesting a free financial performance benchmark report which allows comparisons with the average performance of other similar vessels. The survey is supported by the national federations and local associations around the UK. All information provided is treated as confidential and no individual vessel figures will be revealed in any report. As well as the UK fleet report to be published next year, Seafish will publish its annual Quay Issues magazine later this year which includes stories and features gathered by the researchers as part of the survey. Anybody interested in taking part in the survey should contact Steve Lawrence at Seafish on 0131 524 8663 or email steven.lawrence@seafish.co.uk. To view other opportunities for informing Seafish and the results of last year’s report, visit the Seafish website.
This report provides the main results and findings of the twelfth annual underwater television survey on the ‘Smalls grounds’ ICES assessment area; Functional Unit 22. The survey was multi-disciplinary in nature collecting UWTV, CTD and other ecosystem data. A total of 40 UWTV stations were surveyed successfully (good quality video footage) carried out over an isometric grid at 4.5nmi or 8.3km intervals. The prawn (Nephrops norvegicus) are common in the Celtic Sea occurring in geographically distinct sandy/muddy areas where the sediment is suitable for them to construct their burrows (Figure 1). The Nephrops fishery in ICES sub-area 7 is extremely valuable with landings in 2016 worth around € 107 m at first sale. The Celtic Sea area (Functional Units 19-22 see Figure 1) supports a large multi-national targeted Nephrops fishery mainly using otter trawls and yielding landings in the region of ~5,000 t annually over the last decade (ICES, 2017). The 2016 reported landings from the Smalls (~3276 t) were estimated to be worth in the region of €18.2 million at first sale. The Smalls ground is particularly important to the Irish demersal fleet accounting for around 13% of the fishing effort by all demersal vessels >15m between 2006 - 2009 (Gerritsen, et al., 2012). The Irish demersal fleet now account for over 90% of the FU22 Nephrops landings (ICES, 2017). Good scientific information on stock status and exploitation rates are required to inform sustainable management of this resource. The 2017 Celtic Sea survey took place on RV Celtic Voyager between the 9th August to 17th August. The survey normally takes place in either July or August each year.
A new short video has been produced highlighting the collaborative approach between fishermen and scientists in their innovative survey to assess the status and composition of herring stocks to the West of Scotland.
The film gives an informative overview of the multi-partner survey, which is using a combination of acoustic data and catch sampling to estimate the abundance of herring and investigate whether stocks in the northern part of this fishing zone (Area VIa) are different from those further south.
Such data will then contribute to the international stock assessment process carried out by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
The international survey is led by marine scientists Dr Steven Mackinson of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association (SPFA), Martin Pastoors of the Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association (PFA) and Susan Lusseau of Marine Scotland.
Dr Mackinson says: “By adopting such a collaborative approach between scientists and fishermen, we are able to provide valuable data that can be incorporated into the scientific process for assessing herring stocks in this area.
“It is a great example of fishermen and scientists working together to ensure a sustainable future for our fisheries.”
Pelagic fleet shows that big can be beautiful
There is a school of thought among some environmentalists that when it comes to fishing, big is bad and small is good. Much more sustainable, they argue, to have small-scale artisanal fishers working our fishing grounds as opposed to large trawlers. A simplistic notion which at first glance has some appeal, but on close examination, not one that stands up to any real scrutiny. Take the Scottish mackerel and herring (pelagic) sector as an example. Although there are a number of small-boat hand liners working the fishery, the overwhelming bulk of the catch comes from a relatively small number of large and very sophisticated trawlers. Yet, our herring and mackerel fisheries are among the most sustainable around, with virtually all of them carrying the prestigious Marine Stewardship Council ecolabel for the responsible way in which they are managed. The fishery is very carefully regulated and controlled, with scientific stock assessments used for the setting of catch levels. Furthermore, these large vessels in our pelagic fleet work a clean fishery where there is virtually no by-catch of unwanted fish. The result is our mackerel and herring stocks are healthy and robust. Although the size of the Scottish pelagic fleet is comparatively small, each boat carries many more crew than smaller vessels and the industry supports a large onshore processing sector, employing over 2,000 people. Our mackerel sector alone is worth hundreds of millions of pounds to the Scottish economy each year. Mackerel and herring shoals are mostly located in deep water many miles from the coast where it would be too dangerous for small craft to venture. In the case of mackerel, much of this fishing takes place in the winter where only a large vessel could ever safely harvest the fish. But our environmentally-friendly credentials go even further when compared to other methods of protein production. A recent study by the NAFC Marine Centre in Shetland found that the carbon footprint of the Shetland mackerel trawl fishery is low compared to land based meat production, with it being 8.5 times lower than the best scoring meat and up to 47 times lower than the worst. Mackerel is, therefore, a very efficient, environmentally-friendly means of primary food production in terms of carbon emissions. Here is another thought. Around 17% of the world’s food protein consumption comes from fish, but the UN Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO) notes that in a world where more than 800 million continue to suffer from chronic malnourishment, and where the global population is expected to grow by another 2 billion to reach 9.6 billion people by 2050, we must meet the huge challenge of feeding our planet while safeguarding its natural resources for future generations. The Scottish pelagic sector has a role in addressing this challenge and already a fair proportion of our pelagic catch is exported to markets such as West Africa. Our fisheries, if sustainably managed, can play a huge role in filling the world’s food requirements – and that means employing a mix of both big and small boats. In other words, the key to sustainable fishing lies in a balanced structure, with each segment of the fleet complementing the other, whilst at the same time never forgetting our environmental responsibilities. In Scotland, we are lucky to have such a rich and broad range of fisheries, from small creelers and hand liners to our large pelagic vessels. It is a broad mix which we should cherish – and each and every one has an important role in putting food on our plates. You can keep up to date with the Scottish Pelagic Fish Sustainability Group and its work on their website.
