IJMS Editor’s Choice – are fisheries scientists best utilizing research based on knowledge of fishers?

The work of ICES is amongst the most respected in the world of fishing - so when these guys say fishermen and their data should be taken into account when the scientific world makes its decisions people in positions that matter should take notice.

The article: "A review of the past, the present, and the future of fishers' knowledge research: a challenge to established fisheries science" is available in full here:

"A selected Editor’s Choice article from the latest issue of the ICES Journal of Marine Science is now freely available. This month read more about whether research on the knowledge gathered from fishers is being adequately considered in fisheries science.
A review of over 500 research outputs analysing fishers’ knowledge shows that their experience is not regularly being given due consideration by fisheries scientists. This is despite a growing number of researchers believing that referencing fisher experience might help them to facilitate improved ecological and socio-economic outcomes for marine and freshwater fisheries.

For nearly a century, amateur and professional researchers with experience in ethnography, applied social science, and fisheries biology have conducted research with commercial and artisanal fishers from Canada to Kiribati in order to understand how their knowledge of marine ecosystems and fishery operations could supplement or complement the work of practicing fisheries scientists.

These researchers have disseminated what they consider to be the important knowledge acquired by fishers on the status of fish stocks and marine habitats – including fisher-generated ideas for ensuring fishery sustainability – in books, at conferences, and via peer-reviewed academic journals.

However, they have found that mainstream fisheries scientists rarely integrate the fishers’ knowledge that they champion. Even when they do, it is generally a partial engagement limited to the analysis of log book data or brief quantitative surveys. Fishers’ qualitative anecdotes have primarily been ignored by the mainstream even though a number of publications have showcased how they have or could have been referenced in order to prevent high-profile declines in fish stocks.

This paper is an entry point for interested readers to decide for themselves whether fishers’ knowledge and its research should be part of the fisheries science mainstream. For fisheries scientists and fishers’ knowledge researchers however, it is a wake-up call. The former must decide whether they can continue to ignore unfamiliar data, even where it might help them arrest fishery declines. The latter need to assess whether they can make fishers’ knowledge more easily accessible for their colleagues."

The article: "A review of the past, the present, and the future of fishers' knowledge research: a challenge to established fisheries science" is available in full here:

@MariaC_ampbell @ADJinman 

Wave and solar powered robots set sail from the Scillies

A fleet of marine robots is being launched in the largest deployment of its kind in British waters.

Unmanned boats and submarines will travel 500km (300 miles) across an area off the southwestern tip of the UK. The aim is to test new technologies and to map marine life in a key fishing ground. In total, seven autonomous machines are being released in a trial heralded as a new era of robotic research at sea.

Two of the craft are innovative British devices that are designed to operate for months using renewable sources of power including wind and wave energy. The project, led by the National Oceanography Centre, involves more than a dozen research centres and specialist companies.

Marine robots come in a variety of strange shape and sizes, and no fewer than four different types are being deployed in this project, part of a new generation of devices designed to make marine research far cheaper and easier than with large crewed vessels.

• Autonaut: Powered by wave action and solar panels, Autonaut looks like a canoe with an aerial on top. It bobs on the surface and provides a platform for instruments. The result of a partnership between a management consultant and a former Royal Navy commodore, Autonaut was designed and built by MOST in Chichester.

• C-Enduro: Distinctively shaped with an in-built wind turbine reminiscent of an air-boat, C-Enduro is designed to operate on its own for up to three months. A diesel motor provides back-up power. Instruments record water and weather data, and a winch can lower sensors below the surface. The machine is designed and built by ASV in Portchester in Hampshire.

• Waveglider: The Waveglider involves twin elements, one floating on the surface, the other being a system of miniature blades dangling underwater and harvesting energy. Billed as ideal for operating "for years at sea with no fuel, emissions or crew", the US makers have now turned out more than 100 units.

• Slocum Glider: Named after Joshua Slocum, the first solo round-the-world sailor, this American device looks like a torpedo. It dives and rises through the water with a system of variable buoyancy. Every time it surfaces, the glider can relay information by satellite and pick up new instructions.

Chief scientist Dr Russell Wynn told BBC News: "This is the first time we've deployed this range of vehicles carrying all these instruments. "And it's exciting that it's the first time we can measure everything in the water column and all the life in the ocean simultaneously. "The ability to measure the temperature or the weather at the ocean surface, or dolphins and seabirds with the cameras on the vehicles - no-one's ever been able to do that at the same time hundreds of miles from the shore."

Data about the oceans is usually gathered by a combination of satellites, buoys and research ships, but all three have limitations in their coverage, and large crewed vessels are particularly expensive. The motivation for exploring the use of massed robotic vehicles is to assess whether they can provide near-constant coverage at far lower cost - the equivalent of CCTV offering round-the-clock surveillance. The target for the deployment is an area of ocean marking the boundary between Atlantic waters and tidal waters from the English Channel - what's known as an ocean front. Fronts like this usually create upwelling that brings nutrients from the seabed towards the surface and encourages plankton to thrive. That in turn attracts fish, whales, dolphins and porpoises. Most of the craft are being deployed from the Isles of Scilly for a three-week traverse of the ocean. The exact route of the journey is being withheld to avoid the risk of anyone interfering with the experiment. Instruments will record key parameters of the ocean, ranging from the concentrations of plankton to the clicks and whistles of dolphins and porpoises. Cameras on the surface vehicles will also attempt to capture images of seabirds and other marine life.

According to Dr Wynn, the UK's 700,000 sq km of waters are highly productive as fishing grounds but the processes at work in them remain unclear. AUV The UK government has identified robotics as one of the "eight great technologies" "Actually understanding how that sea works and how the animals are distributed is a real challenge if you've only got a small number of ships and a few buoys dotted around. "Having a fleet of vehicles that can go out, without humans on board, controlled by satellite, really gives us a chance to transform our ability to monitor the ocean. "At the moment a lot of decisions about how we manage the oceans are based on very few data - relatively simple things like where do dolphins and seabirds go to feed? We actually have very little information on that."

Until now, companies developing robotic vehicles for use at sea have focused on military and commercial customers such as the US Navy and oil and gas companies, and American firms have dominated the market for automated submarines. The British government's hope is that the UK may become a leader in unmanned surface machines - robotic boats - which can act as drones gathering information to help weather forecasters or do conservation work. Ministers have identified robotics as one of the "eight great technologies" that can help rebalance the country's economy and drive growth.

Funding has allowed the National Oceanography Centre to support two UK companies, MOST and ASV, in developing their AutoNaut and C-Enduro robotic boats that are on trial now. The first phase of the deployment is planned to end in three weeks' time, when the vehicles will be retrieved from the ocean and the results analysed.

Partners in the project include the universities of St Andrews and Exeter, Cefas, the Marine Biological Association, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, the British Oceanographic Data Centre, British Antarctic Survey, UK Met Office, Royal Navy and DSTL. Corporate partners include MOST, ASV, J&S, RS Aqua and Liquid Robotics.

Full story from the BBC here.

100 years after Hjort - special issue of ICES Journal of Marine Science

A special issue of ICES Journal of Marine Science commemorates the legacy of the father of modern fisheries science. Published: 6 October 2014

​​​​​​100 years ago, Johan Hjort wrote his seminal fisheries science work, Fluctuations in the great fisheries of northern Europe, which featured new conceptual ideas about the formation of strong year classes based on age determination techniques from fish scales. Hjort's research still receives 40–50 citations every year, making it an exceptionally influential study that continues to drive fisheries science to this day.

To commemorate the centenary of Hjort's work, the ICES Journal of Marine Science (IJMS) has published a special issue of thirty-two articles that demonstrate the deep influence he has had, and continues to have, on fisheries and marine science. The articles take up questions addressed by Hjort, whether through the use of new innovations in sampling and analysis, the application of mathematical models, adding climate change as a context, or with a slightly new spin.

The Norwegian scientist, one of the giants of fisheries biology, already considered during his time the managerial and societal implications of fisheries research. In addition to his research, he was an advocate for international cooperation and one of the founding fathers of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Hjort served as ICES President from 1939—48 and helped launch joint research activities, for example those in the North Sea, as well as extensive cruise programmes.

The works of Johan Hjort will continue to interest, influence, and challenge fisheries scientists globally. As he himself predicted: "…the object can never be fully attained; new questions will constantly arise, as the knowledge obtained creates the demand for new, and it will always be possible to increase and intensify our comprehension of the vital conditions affecting the organisms in question."

Fluctuations in the great fisheries of northern Europe - Commemorating 100 years since Hjort's 1914 treatise A special issue of the ICES Journal of Marine Science.  The entire IJMS issue is now freely available for download on the IJMS website.

Mount's Bay after the blow.

The MMO and customer service - explained.

It's great to see an organisation like the MMO take things like customer service seriously - although I dare say there may be a handful of fishermen who might find the following exercise in assessing customer relations a tad #ironic and be moved to use the terms 'MMO' and 'customer relations' as the defining example of an oxymoron. Comments on this website and others often cite the MMO as having an inherent lack of in-depth industry knowledge within the organisation - it would be good to see more young people from fishing communities choosing degree level career paths that see them working for shore based organisations like the MMO and MSC - as is often the case in countries like France, Spain, Norway and Holland.

As part of national Customer Service Week John Gargett, Customer Manager at the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), discusses how customer and stakeholder feedback informs the MMO’s decisions and actions.

We engage with our customers in a number of ways and are always keen to hear people’s views on the way we work.

Our Stakeholder Focus Group brings together key social, economic and environmental bodies, which between them bring in over £14 billion to the UK economy each year. The group meets approximately four times a year and provides us with a unique opportunity to sense check our policies and thinking with key stakeholders in the marine environment.

Members of the group include representatives of many sectors – other Government bodies/organisations, the fishing industry, aggregates, ports, renewables, energy, shipping, yachting, conservation and wildlife groups. Matters they have fed into include our Corporate Plan objectives, marine planning engagement and consultation, marine licensing fast track and exemptions, and the revised fees and charges.

The collective experience and knowledge the group brings and the range of views offered give us an excellent insight into what is important to the people we serve and regulate, preventing many problems before they occur and giving stakeholders real input into our work.

We also learn a great deal by analysing the root causes of enquiries and complaints we receive and matters of interest to customers through general enquiries. In addition engagement that takes place day to day in person at our coastal offices and through other channels at our central offices, including social media, gives us detailed feedback to shape our operations.

This is supported by our Customer Insight Groups representing fisheries, European funding and marine licensing where customer service matters are discussed directly with myself. Engagement events such as marine planning drop-in sessions and our quota roadshows also provide excellent insight on specific areas and activities.

However these are by no means the only channels by which you can engage with the MMO. If there is anything you want to discuss with me please email me (john.gargett@marinemanagement.org.uk), tweet us (@The_MMO) or post on our Facebook page.

You may also be interested in:

• How do you think we're doing?
• The MMO's Corporate Plan - explaining our aims for the next three years
• Marine licensing improvements highlighted in Parliament

Identity crisis...

When is a sole not a sole, when it's a monk..

happy hake...

better known as black jacks locally...

otolith hunting from turbot...

 top quality inshore turbot...

head to tail cod style...

an early morning film crew capture the market buzz on a busy Monday market...

with the harbour full owing to the poor weather last night, the first serious blow since the summer, which left only a few of he bigger boats still at sea...

good to see the boats still doing their bit to green the planet...

the Tamar class RNLI lifeboat Grace Dixon will no doubt sail this morning as she makes her way north despite the big swell running in from the west ...

paint job in progress...

its seems last night's storm damage in Newlyn was restricted to the local flora...

though cyclists on the prom...

had to take care of the odd encroaching wave...

stocking up for opening day in Newlyn no doubt.

Who can identify the Karina Olsen?

@sprite1967 wants to get in touch with the owner of the ex anchor seiner or 'snubby' the Karina Olsen - which she thinks was previously the Dover Star which her father skippered until 1981 out of Grimsby. The boat has been in Grimsby dock for years and is now in Penzance.

These anchor seiners used to make trips up to three weeks using a seine net fishing mainly for plaice in the North Sea. They were capable of riding out appalling weather when lying at anchor - the bunks in for'ard accommodation had sliding doors to keep their occupants from falling out!

Anyone who can confirm that the Karina Olsen was indeed the Dover Star or who can put Moy G in touch with the present owner should tweet her - @sprite1967