Just what has happened in the Clyde over the last 50 years?

Below are official government figures that they would rather the public does not see. They are not used in any official reports such as “Scotland’s Sea’s Understanding their state” or the SSMEI report “State of the Clyde report”

In the past the Island of Arran boasted a popular recreational fishing industry, hosting two annual fishing festivals; the Lamlash Festival and the Brodick Festival.  The Lamlash Festival was held over a weekend and attracted 150-200 anglers every year on average, and was at the height of its popularity in the 1960s when over 7 tonnes of fish were caught in 1967. 

Tonnes of fish landed at the Lamlash Festival.  Source: COAST.

THE LAST 50 YEARS OF COMMECIAL FISHING IN THE CLYDE

Landings of cod from Firth of Clyde 1960-2006.  Source: Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland
(DAFS) and Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA).

Landings of whiting from Firth of Clyde 1960-2006.  Source: DAFS and SFPA.

Landings of haddock from Firth of Clyde 1960-2006.  Source: DAFS and SFPA.

Landings of hake from Firth of Clyde 1960-2006.  Source: DAFS and SFPA.

Landings of saithe from Firth of Clyde 1960-2006.  Source: DAFS and SFPA.

Landings of flounder from Firth of Clyde 1960-2006.  Source: DAFS and SFPA.

Landings of plaice from Firth of Clyde 1960-2006.  Source: DAFS and SFPA.

NEPHROPS,  PRAWNS.

The majority of Clyde fishers are now reliant on this single species, with the stock currently thought to be being fished sustainably . A limited number of days at sea and mesh size restrictions are in place to prevent over-exploitation , but this fails to protect habitats and non-target species. Discard ratios are extremely high in the Clyde Nephrops fishery, with 9kg of bycatch produced for every 1kg of Nephrops caughtii. 25,000 tonnes of discards are generated every year in the Firth of Clyde from Nephrops trawling alone , many of which die when returned to the sea . Discards also provide food for scavenging seabirds and benthic animals, probably subsidising scavenging populations and changing the composition of communities.

Landings of Nephrops in the Firth of Clyde.  An increase in the 1980s and 90s occurred, with landings fluctuating but remaining relatively stable since.  Landings values are slightly different from earlier statistics in the 1970s and 1980s because these results incorporate a different area of the Clyde, being taken from vessels landing at Clyde ports which may have worked outside of the area.  Source: SFPA.

Boris Worm and colleagues recently investigated in to the declines of commercial fish populations and the impact this may have on ecosystem services .  They classed fisheries as collapsed where there had been a 90% or greater decline from maximum catches.  Records dating from 1960 will not record the maximum abundance of cod, haddock, whiting and other species, as these have been exploited for hundreds of years.  Nevertheless, using the top recorded landings for each of these species in the 1960s, and comparing them to landings in the last couple of years, cod and whiting show declines of over 99%, and haddock over 95%.  These fisheries are collapsed, and now commercially extinct. 

These species are not yet biologically extinct, but they are ecologically extinct and no longer perform functional roles in the Firth of Clyde ecosystem.  This environment is now less biologically complex and with much lower abundance of species and is therefore less resilient to environmental fluctuations .  This decline of fish in the Firth of Clyde may in part account for the success of the Nephrops and scallop fisheries which target species subject to much reduced predation pressure, increasing population sizes.

The transformation of the Clyde has been swift and may be irreversible if current practises continue.  The fisheries of the 19th century concentrated on herring but also included many diverse fisheries for demersal and invertebrate species.  Today, the composition of main species fished has changed greatly.  Fish no longer dominate catches, and invertebrates from the bottom end of the food chain are the main species fished today. 

Successive governments have failed to manage our seas responsibly.
Every year in December they give in to the commercial fishing lobby, year after year against all the best scientific advice.
The Government and commercial mobile fishermen seem determined to live for today & to hell with future generations. 

COAST  Community of Arran Seabed Trust

Return to Coast Home