Creelers and Scallop divers environmentally friendly fisheries.

Article courtesy of  http://forargyll.com/

Creel marker buoys like those pictured are a common sight around the west coast of Scotland especially in Argyll. Creels are caged structures with an access for the intended catch to access the bated cage. Escape is prevented by the design of the entrance. These creels are commonly used for catching prawns and crabs.

Throughout Argyll relatively small fishing boats from numerous rural locations around the coast set a series of creels in local areas known to the fishermen for giving good returns. This method of fishing has been carried out for thousands of years and includes the larger lobster pots - although these are becoming increasingly rare around the whole of the UK.

But is this a sustainable fishery?

Creels are also referred to as ’static gear’ as opposed to the mobile methods of fishing which includes the trawlers and dredgers.

The creels are weighted by means of a heavier metal base that helps to keep the creel upright once it has been deployed. When it’s thrown over the side of the fishing vessel, the creel sinks to the sea bed and, if placed correctly, remains in situ until it is retrieved several days later - hopefully for the fishermen with the intended catch.

As far as seabed disturbance is concerned, the effect of the creel is minimal. Only the area on which the creel sits is affected and this is normally only for a short period of time.
Another type of ’selective’ fishery found locally is with the scallop divers. This fishery has developed with the accessibility and lower costs of dive gear. The diver fishermen fish in relatively shallow waters, again targeting areas known to them on a local basis as giving good returns.

For both of these local fisheries, working out of small boats, it is in the interests of the fishermen not to overexploit their patch.

If they remove too much catch in one area it may have a disastrous effect on the future reproduction of the target species, in this case, prawns or scallops.

Hand caught scallops fetch a higher price at the market as the shells are normally in better condition as opposed to being dredged.

By-catch for the scallop diver is nil, picking of undersized scallops is detrimental to the local divers so therefore not in their own interest. Again if a diver strips an area, the scallops which have an ‘ideal’ distance apart for effective reproduction will be affected.

The vast majority of local scallop divers are extremely knowledgeable and conservation minded. Which takes us back to the creelers.

As with the divers, the vast majority of creel fishermen are highly knowledgeable regarding their fisheries and local areas, but is the industry sustainable?

For Argyll recently covered the immoral catch of discards by the mobile fishing sectors. This generally is not down to the individual fishermen but due to the current legislation. The article made reference to a study conducted in the Clyde where the discards and by-catch for prawn trawlers were in the region of 3,500 tonnes per year.

The report was part of the Sustainable Supply Chain Project Report. (Chapter  4 discards and bycatch). It also covered the by-catch of creelers in the Clyde (page 124 in the above report), therefore allowing a good comparison between the two fisheries: mobile verses static. The overall sampling ratio was small but it still allows for a comparison.

The report showed no retained by-catch or discards for Whiting, Haddock, Plaice, Cod, Hake, or other fish species. Although an extremely small amount of discarded Whiting and Cod occurred - 0.5 and 7 tonnes respectively, these figures were a back calculated estimate of tonnes from the fishery during the one year period.

For the same period, the report showed no by-catch or discards for discarded litter, inorganic waste, rocks, sand etc; or for organic waste -  largely seaweed from creel fisheries.

» Discarded crustacea (includes crabs) 373 tonnes
» Discarded mollusc (shellfish) 173 tonnes
» Discarded echinoderms (includes sea urchins) 8 tonnes.
There was no other reported species discard. So here were the statistics on a total discard of slightly over 560 tonnes - as contrasted with 3,500 tonnes from the equivalent mobile sector for the same region and time scale.

What is important to stress here is that much of what is caught in creels is unharmed and is released. Some will be stressed and may succumb to predation shortly after release but probably a far greater amount of these discards and by-catch will live out the rest of their lives as normal.

The zero recorded amounts of inorganic and organic material is an indication of the minimal amount of disturbance by these fisheries to territories largely forming vitally important fish reproduction habitats.
It would take further scientific surveys to ascertain if 560 tonnes of discards in the Clyde area is sustainable for that area, but at around seven times less discards than the mobile sector for the same target species, and with minimal habitat disturbance, these fisheries hav e got to be more sustainable than say, prawn trawling.

People are part of the equation. We need to live and eat. It is in our own interest to keep fisheries for the future and not to adversely affect other industries which rely on the marine environment.

Otters have been recorded as by-catch in creels. Otters are a protected species and form part of Scotland’s rich biological diversity, which in turn is part of the this country’s lucrative tourist industry - the most important in Argyll’s economy.

To end with good news for otters, creels can be fitted with ‘otter friendly’ escape systems should they become trapped inside. If these otter friendly creels are used then this fishing method along with handpicked dived scallops is a step in the right direction for a sustainable future.

Even better news is the feel good factor that, when eating your next prawn or scallop meal, is the thought that they have come from a local, sustainable source.

If you would like a recipe from top chefs, Nick Nairn and John Quigley for scallops and langoustines, here you go:

» Scallops with Oriental Salad & Sweet Chilli Dressing
» Langoustine (prawns) Salad with Hot Garlic Butter
These recipes come from the Scottish Creelers and Divers Association (SCAD) website, an industry association whose main objective is: ‘To ensure a sustainable future for the Creeler and Diver fishing methods, through agreed conservation measures’. To learn more about SCAD, check out its website.  http://www.bigbrayne.co.uk/scad/aboutus.htm

Mark Carter, Environment Editor of http://forargyll.com/The photographs accompanying this article are by copyright holder, Mark Carter. The one the the top, with the creel marker, is taken on Loch Etive looking towards Ben Cruachan, one of Argyll’s best known Munros. The one with the island in the background is taken from from the campsite on Arran looking over to Pladda Island and its lighthouse. Copyright of the Scallop diver photo is Howard Wood