Devon & Severn IFCA Wrasse Fishery Guidance click here to read
Southern Wrasse Fishery Guidance
Southern IFCA has a duty to manage the exploitation of sea fisheries resources in the coastal waters of Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to ensure a sustainable marine environment and inshore fisheries, by successfully securing the right balance between social, environmental and economic benefits to ensure healthy seas, sustainable fisheries and a viable industry.
Over the past two years a new fishery for live wrasse has developed on the South coast of England. Fish are transported to Scottish salmon farms to be used as cleaner fish for the removal of sea-lice as a biological alternative to the use of anti-parasitic chemical treatments.
Southern IFCA has, in collaboration with other South-west IFCAs, developed a co-ordinated management response to the developing live wrasse fishery through identifying a range of important management measures and research priorities. At an Authority meeting on 29th June, Southern IFCA Committee Members chose to adopt new management for the district’s fishery for live wrasse. These measures require fishers to observe a range of measures designed to preserve the long term sustainability of the local wrasse populations.
A range of species specific maximum and minimum sizes have been developed in order to maintain recruitment into the fishery through aligning minimum sizes above the size of sexual maturity. The maximum size will serve to maintain a balanced population structure through protecting the larger established family groups from capture. Maximum sizes are particularly effective at protecting the longer-lived and larger growing wrasse species which employ a hermaphrodite reproductive strategy.
No take zones are believed to afford effective and long-term protection for species with high site fidelity and small home ranges/territories, like those exhibited by local wrasse species (Morel et al., 2013). A series of no take zones and no potting zones have been developed within the Southern IFCA district, in many cases overlapping with the boundaries of Marine Protected Areas. In addition, popular sites for recreational sea fishing have been included as no take zones in order to reduce conflict between users and to ease the pressure on wrasse populations in these areas.
A fishing closed season from April to June (inclusive) has also been introduced to protect wrasse populations during their peak spawning period. Additional measures include a restriction on the placing of wrasse pots to waters less than 10m deep to protect the survivability of catches together with a restriction of 80 pots per vessel in order to restrict fishing effort.
In collaboration with a range of partners including Natural England and industry operators, Southern IFCA has commenced a programme of study to improve our understanding of the fishery and its effects on the marine environment. Research techniques include the collection of fishery catch data, catch sampling and the development of a PhD.
In developing this approach the Authority has demonstrated its commitment to delivering an evidence-led approach to managing a sustainable fishery for live wrasse in the district. Through our ongoing compliance and enforcement strategy and in collaboration with colleagues in the Marine Management Organisation and CEFAS, we will continue to monitor the success of these measures. Please click here to view the Wrasse Fishery Guidance
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