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Profile updated on 28 September 2016

SUMMARY

SUMMARY

IDENTIFICATION

SCIENTIFIC NAME(s)

Aequipecten opercularis

SPECIES NAME(s)

Queen scallop

It is difficult to define distinct populations of scallops as they may either disperse over large distances in their planctonic phase or, in some cases, remain within a localized hydrological area over generations (Seafish, 2013). There are some indications that there is a larger Irish Sea and off Northern Ireland population (Beaumont, 1982; Andrews et al, 2011). Connectivity with West of Scotland populations is unknown, so a single profile exists for fisheries operating in Irish Sea and W of Scotland. A localized assessment has been conducted for the Isle of Man.

RELATED LINKS:

ANALYSIS

Strengths
  • A minimum size at 40mm (shell height) is defined at the EU level.
  • Special Areas of Conservation are established around UK where dredges and trawls are forbidden.
  • New dredge design is more effective than traditional dredges, with higher catches and lower bycatch.
Weaknesses
  • The population status is not known. No stock assessment is conducted. Abundance indices and exploitation rates are not known.
  • Specific management measures are not defined.
  • Otter trawls and dredges capture distinct non-target species and may have biological impacts and physical effects on the ecosystem which depends on the type of habitat used by queen scallops – sand, sandy gravel and mud, maerl or mussel beds.
  • Bycatch is not quantified; around 20-30% of discarded species do not survive.
  • Dredges are considered to have more impact on benthic organisms, comparing to otter trawls.
Options
  • Stock structure should be understood.
  • Determine abundance of the population to properly assess the stock.
  • pecific impacts of the fishing gear on the benthic community, which are expected to occur, need to be extensively studied.
  • New dredges can be an alternative to otter trawling were the bycatch of demersal fish is an issue.

FISHSOURCE SCORES

Management Quality:

Management Strategy:

< 6

Managers Compliance:

< 6

Fishers Compliance:

≥ 6

Stock Health:

Current
Health:

NOT YET SCORED

Future Health:

NOT YET SCORED

RECOMMENDATIONS

CATCHERS & REGULATORS
  1. Review the FishSource profile and publish or share online relevant missing information in your possession or those accessible to you. 
  2. Encourage scientists to share their studies/publications with FishSource by commenting on the profile and uploading a hyperlink to the document.
  3. Work with scientists on the collection of data and make them accessible online.
  4. Encourage the institutionalization of data collection and publication.
  5. Start a fishery improvement project to address sustainability issues in this fishery. For advice on starting a FIP, see SFP’s Seafood Industry Guide to FIPs at http://www.sustainablefish.org/publications/2014/04/30/the-seafood-industry-guide-to-fips.
  6. Communicate to fishery managers that there are sustainability issues in this fishery that may be affecting the sale of products, and request that they comprehensively evaluate and address such issues.
RETAILERS & SUPPLY CHAIN
  1. Advise your suppliers that currently the FishSource profile reflects that there is not enough information publicly available on this fishery and you are unable to make an accurate determination of the sustainability status. Request that they advise the relevant authorities of the situation and that efforts need to be made to collect and publish data and disclose data sources to FishSource to better inform buying decisions.
  2. Encourage your supply chain to start a fishery improvement project. For advice on starting a FIP see SFP’s Seafood Industry Guide to FIPs at http://www.sustainablefish.org/publications/2014/04/30/the-seafood-industry-guide-to-fips.
  3. Work with other suppliers and buyers on a pre-competitive basis to start a supplier roundtable to review improvement needs in this and other similar fisheries, catalyze fishery improvement projects, and monitor progress in improvement efforts.

FIPS

No related FIPs

CERTIFICATIONS

No related MSC fisheries

Fisheries

Within FishSource, the term "fishery" is used to indicate each unique combination of a flag country with a fishing gear, operating within a particular management unit, upon a resource. That resource may have a known biological stock structure and/or may be assessed at another level for practical or jurisdictional reasons. A fishery is the finest scale of resolution captured in FishSource profiles, as it is generally the scale at which sustainability can most fairly and practically be evaluated.

Fisheries
MANAGEMENT UNIT FLAG COUNTRY FISHING GEAR
European Union Ireland Single boat bottom otter trawls
Towed dredges
United Kingdom Single boat bottom otter trawls
Towed dredges

Analysis

OVERVIEW

Strengths
European Union

Last updated on 28 February 2014

  • A minimum size at 40mm (shell height) is defined at the EU level.
United Kingdom
  • Special Areas of Conservation are established around UK where dredges and trawls are forbidden.
Towed dredges
  • New dredge design is more effective than traditional dredges, with higher catches and lower bycatch.
Weaknesses
European Union

Last updated on 28 February 2014

  • The population status is not known. No stock assessment is conducted. Abundance indices and exploitation rates are not known.
  • Specific management measures are not defined.
  • Otter trawls and dredges capture distinct non-target species and may have biological impacts and physical effects on the ecosystem which depends on the type of habitat used by queen scallops – sand, sandy gravel and mud, maerl or mussel beds.
  • Bycatch is not quantified; around 20-30% of discarded species do not survive.
United Kingdom
Towed dredges
  • Dredges are considered to have more impact on benthic organisms, comparing to otter trawls.
Options
European Union

Last updated on 28 February 2014

  • Stock structure should be understood.
  • Determine abundance of the population to properly assess the stock.
  • pecific impacts of the fishing gear on the benthic community, which are expected to occur, need to be extensively studied.
  • New dredges can be an alternative to otter trawling were the bycatch of demersal fish is an issue.
RECOMMENDATIONS

Last updated on 28 September 2016

Improvement Recommendations to Catchers & Regulators
  1. Review the FishSource profile and publish or share online relevant missing information in your possession or those accessible to you. 
  2. Encourage scientists to share their studies/publications with FishSource by commenting on the profile and uploading a hyperlink to the document.
  3. Work with scientists on the collection of data and make them accessible online.
  4. Encourage the institutionalization of data collection and publication.
  5. Start a fishery improvement project to address sustainability issues in this fishery. For advice on starting a FIP, see SFP’s Seafood Industry Guide to FIPs at http://www.sustainablefish.org/publications/2014/04/30/the-seafood-industry-guide-to-fips.
  6. Communicate to fishery managers that there are sustainability issues in this fishery that may be affecting the sale of products, and request that they comprehensively evaluate and address such issues.
Recommendations to Retailers & Supply Chain
  1. Advise your suppliers that currently the FishSource profile reflects that there is not enough information publicly available on this fishery and you are unable to make an accurate determination of the sustainability status. Request that they advise the relevant authorities of the situation and that efforts need to be made to collect and publish data and disclose data sources to FishSource to better inform buying decisions.
  2. Encourage your supply chain to start a fishery improvement project. For advice on starting a FIP see SFP’s Seafood Industry Guide to FIPs at http://www.sustainablefish.org/publications/2014/04/30/the-seafood-industry-guide-to-fips.
  3. Work with other suppliers and buyers on a pre-competitive basis to start a supplier roundtable to review improvement needs in this and other similar fisheries, catalyze fishery improvement projects, and monitor progress in improvement efforts.

1.STOCK STATUS

STOCK ASSESSMENT
European Union

No stock assessment is known to be conducted (MI, undated).

SCIENTIFIC ADVICE
European Union

The Marine Institute (MI) recommends the recollection of biological data to determine the stock status and also distribution of the stock (MI, undated). Effort limits and management measures are advised to improve the status of the UK queen scallop stocks, especially due to the effect of environmental conditions on recruitment fluctuation (Vause et al, 2007; Beukers-Stewart and Beukers-Stewart, 2009).

Reference Points

Reference points are not set.

CURRENT STATUS
European Union

Last updated on 28 February 2014

The status of the resource is not known (MI, undated).

Trends

Last updated on 28 Feb 2014

Catches were low from 1970 to 1973 at around 400 tonnes. Since then have been oscillating, between 5 and 10 thousand tonnes until 2008, with the exception of 1994-1996 that were reduced to around 3 thousand tonnes. From 2008 catches increased abruptly, reaching 20 thousand tonnes in 2011 mostly due to the UK proportion (FAO, 2013). Biomass and exploitation data are not available.

2.MANAGEMENT QUALITY

MANAGEMENT
European Union

Last updated on 28 February 2014

The queen scallop fishery is not regulated by catch limits but only by a minimum landing size (shell height) at 40 mm (EC 850/98). The fishing effort is restricted by licenses since 1999 for vessels >10m (AFBI, undated; Beukers-Stewart and Beukers-Stewart, 2009).The fishing effort is limited at the European level for UK at 3,315,619 kilowatt days for ICES area VII and 1,974,425 kilowatt days for ICES areas V-VI and for Ireland at 525,012 kilowatt days for ICES area VII and 5,766 kilowatt days for ICES areas V-VI (EC No. 1415/2004; MMO, 2013) . There are effort swaps agreements between countries to not exceed these limits (MMO, undated).

Recovery Plans

No recovery plans are known to be in place.

COMPLIANCE
European Union

Last updated on 28 February 2014

The fishery is not regulated by catch limits. No data is available on Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

United Kingdom

The fishing effort limited was not surpassed in 2013 (MMO, 2013). There are effort swaps agreements between countries to not exceed these limits (MMO, undated).

3.ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY

BYCATCH
ETP Species
European Union

The impact of the fishery on Protected, Endangered and Threatened (PET) species is unknown.

Other Species
European Union

Structure of bycatch species vary with the geographical area, according to the composition of the seabed community (Veale et al, 2001). Kaiser et al (1996) consider that dredges are more selective, catching less non-target species than trawls. However, Hinz et al (2012) concluded that otter trawls have less bycatch and capture mainly demersal fish while traditional dredges and new dredges design showed bycatch of invertebrates, especially on Brittlestar Ophiura ophiura.

HABITAT
European Union

Otter trawls are considered to have less impact on benthic organisms, comparing to dredges (AFBI, undated). However Kaiser et al (1996) concluded that both gear types impact the epifaunal community reducing the abundance of some species.

A comparative study analyzed the effectiveness and the impact of different fishing gears on the ecosystem. The new dredge design with a rubber lip instead of the traditional teeth is considered to be more effective than the traditional dredge, due to higher catches and lower bycatch but both impact more the benthic community than otter trawl (Hinz et al, 2012).

United Kingdom
Marine Reserves

Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) designated under the EU Habitats Directive, are established around the UK where dredges and trawls are forbidden (Beukers-Stewart and Beukers-Stewart 2009).

FishSource Scores

MANAGEMENT QUALITY

As calculated for 2014 data.

The score is < 6.

No management strategy or target reference points are known to be in place. Effort limits are defined by EC No. 1415/2004 but no real-time monitoring of the stock is conducted.

As calculated for 2014 data.

The score is < 6.

The fishery is regulated by fishing effort (kilowatt days) (EC No. 1415/2004; AFBI, undated) but no formal stock assessment is conducted or scientific advice is provided.

As calculated for 2014 data.

The score is ≥ 6.

The fishing effort limited at the European level for UK at 3,315,619 kilowatt days for ICES area VII and 1,974,425 kilowatt days for ICES areas V-VI (EC No. 1415/2004) was not surpassed in 2013 (MMO, 2013). There are effort swaps agreements between countries to not exceed these limits (MMO, undated). No data is available on Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

STOCK HEALTH:

No data available for biomass
No data available for biomass
To see data for catch and tac, please view this site on a desktop.
No data available for fishing mortality
No data available for fishing mortality
No data available for recruitment
No data available for recruitment
To see data for management quality, please view this site on a desktop.
No data available for stock status
No data available for stock status
DATA NOTES
European Union

Last updated on 28 February 2014

  1. Catches 1970-2012 include Irish and UK data, excluding Isle of Man (FAO, 2014). 
  2. No stock assessment is known to be conducted, no reference points are defined nor abundance indices are available; advised catches, set catch limits or management measures are not known to be in place, preventing all scores to be quantitatively or qualitatively determined.
  3. Scores #1, #2 and #3 were based on the fishing effort limits defined for UK and Ireland (EC No. 1415/2004; MMO, 2013) and availabe information.
United Kingdom
  1. Catches 1970-2012 include UK data, excluding Isle of Man (FAO, 2014).
  2. No stock assessment is known to be conducted, no reference points are defined nor abundance indices are available or advised catches thus scores #4 and #5 cannot be quantitatively or qualitatively determined.
  3. Scores #1, #2 and #3 were based on the fishing effort limits defined for UK (EC No. 1415/2004; MMO, 2013) and availabe information.

Download Source Data

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Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs)

No related FIPs

Certifications

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

No related MSC certifications

Sources

Credits

Agro-Food and Bio-sciences Institute (AFBI), undated. Dredge fisheries in Northern Ireland, Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems Branch for DARD Fisheries and Environment Division, 31 pp.http://www.dardni.gov.uk/dredge_fisheries_in_northern_ireland__2_.pdf

Andrews, J.W., Andrews, A.R., Brand, T.J., Holt, A.R. Brand, Holt, T.J. 2011. MSC Assessment Report for Isle of Man Queen Scallop Trawl and Dredge Fishery, Moody Marine Ltd, 203 pp.http://www.msc.org/track-a-fishery/fisheries-in-the-program/certified/north-east-atlantic/Isle-of-Man-queen-scallop/assessment-downloads-1/IOM_Queenies_Public_Certification_Report.pdf

Beaumont, A.R. 1982. Geographic variation in allele frequencies at three loci in Chlamys opercularis from Norway to the Brittany coast, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 6(2): 243-261 http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=A2063DE531C47E919DB8A30EE0FF16FA.journals?fromPage=online&aid=4426044

Beukers-Stewart, B. D. and Beukers-Stewart, J. S. 2009. Principles for the Management of Inshore Scallop Fisheries around the United Kingdom, Environment Department, University of York, 57 pp. http://www.york.ac.uk/media/environment/documents/people/bryce/Scallop%20Fisheries%20Management%20(Beukers-Stewart%20&%20Beukers-Stewart%202009).pdf

Blue Ocean Institute (BOI), 2013. Full species report: Queen scallop, Aequipecten opercularis, 26 pp. http://blueocean.org/documents/2013/05/scallop-queen-full-species-report.pdf

Council Regulation (EC) no. 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms, Official Journal of the European Communities, 36 pp. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:1998:125:0001:0036:EN:PDF

Council Regulation (EC) No. 1415/2004 of 19 July 2004 fixing the maximum annual fishing effort for certain fishing areas and fisheries, 5 pp. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:258:0001:0005:EN:PDF

FAO, 2013. Global Capture Production 1950-2011, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department [Accessed 10 December 2013] http://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/global-capture-production/query/en

FAO, 2014. Global Capture Production 1950-2012, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department [Accessed 26 February 2013] http://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/global-capture-production/query/en

Hinz, H. Murray, L. G., Malcolm, F.R., Kaiser, M. J. 2012. The environmental impacts of three different queen scallop (Aequipecten opercularis) fishing gears, Marine Environmental Research, 73:85-95 http://yadda.icm.edu.pl/yadda/element/bwmeta1.element.elsevier-b15b8073-9c09-3f48-a4b7-8569aa1aefcf

Kaiser, M.J., Hill, A.S., Ramsay, K., Spencer, B.E., Brand, A.R., Veale, L.O., Prudden, K., Rees, E.I.S, Munday, B.W., Ball, B., Hawkins, S.J. 1996. Benthic disturbance by fishing gear in the Irish Sea: a comparison of beam trawling and scallop dredging, Aquatic Conservation 6(4): 269–285. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0755(199612)6:4%3C269::AID-AQC202%3E3.0.CO;2-C/abstract

Macleod, J.A.A., Thorpe, J.P and Duggan, N.A. 1985. A biochemical genetic study of population structure in queen scallop (Chlamys opercularis) stocks in the Northern Irish Sea, Marine Biology 87:77-82 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00397008

Marine Institute (MI), 2007. King scallop and Queen scallop on all Coasts (Sub-area VI and VII) Pecten maximus and Aequipecten opercularis, Fisheries Science Services, The Stock Book 2007 – Status of Fish and Shellfish Stocks, Marine Institute, 5 pp. http://www.marine.ie/NR/rdonlyres/32EAE0CC-AB32-49DA-8129-B22E43569314/0/Scallops07.pdf

Marine Management Organisation (MMO), 2013. Western Waters regime: Analyses of scallops fishing effort [Accessed 28 February 2014]http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/fisheries/management/days_western_analyses.htm

Marine Management Organisation (MMO), undated. Quota and effort exchanges related to Western Waters 
scallop effort in 2010 and 2011, 3 pp. http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/fisheries/management/documents/days_western_exchanges2010-2011.pdf

Murray, L.G. and Kaiser, M.J. 2012. The Isle of Man Aequipecten opercularis fishery stock assessment 2012, July 2012. Bangor University Fisheries and Conservation Report No. 17, 20 pp.http://fisheries-conservation.bangor.ac.uk/iom/documents/17v2.pdf

Pawson, M.G., Pickett, G.D., Walker, P. 2002. The coastal fisheries of England and Wales, Part IV: A review of their status 1999-2001. Sci. Ser. Tech Rep., CEFAS Lowestoft, 116: 83pp.http://www.cefas.defra.gov.uk/publications/techrep/tech116.pdf

Seafish, 2013. Responsible Sourcing Guide: scallops. Version 3 – January 2013, 13 pp. http://www.seafish.org/media/publications/SeafishResponsibleSourcingGuide_Scallops_201301.pdf

Vause, B. J., Beukers-Stewart, B. D., and Brand, A. R. 2007. Fluctuations and forecasts in the fishery for queen scallops (Aequipecten opercularis) around the Isle of Man. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 1124–1135 http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/content/64/6/1124.full

Veale, L.O., Hill, A.S., Hawkins, S.J., Brand, A.R. 2001. Distribution and damage to the by-catch assemblages of the northern Irish Sea scallop dredge fisheries, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 81(01): 85-96 http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=68149

References

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