Marine conservation group calls for seabed trawling ban
Marine life in proposed conservation zones off the Westcountry coast will only benefit if bottom-towed fishing gear is banned, environmentalists have said.
In December, the Government signed off on 15 aquatic reserves around the Devon and Cornwall coast – just a quarter of those put forward by the independent body Finding Sanctuary.
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Among those in the first wave are Torbay and Skerries Bank, southeast of Start Point, off the South Devon coast.
But the Marine Conservation Society has put itself on a collision course with local fishermen by insisting that seabed trawling in the areas be banned and limitations imposed on moorings and potting.
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The society’s biodiversity policy officer Dr Jean-Luc Solandt said protection from seabed trawling would make the areas both richer for biodiversity and low-level fishing activities.
“Both Torbay and Skerries Bank are areas of the seabed that are surviving on borrowed time,” he said. “Both have parts that are threatened by bottom trawling and scallop dredging.
“Torbay’s extensive seagrass beds can be damaged by dredging and indiscriminate anchoring.”
The two areas could be designated as Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) later this year following a public consultation currently being held by the Government.
Volunteers on the Marine Conservation Society’s Seasearch programme surveyed both last summer to gather fresh information on the current state of both habitats and species.
Divers found pockets of rare and vulnerable species which the society claimed would not recover from damage unless bottom-towed fishing gear, coastal development, mooring and potting were effectively managed.
Reefs, eelgrass beds, cuttlefish, crawfish and short-snouted seahorses are among the species which could be protected.
Dr Solandt said areas of seagrass would become more dense, productive, and become a more significant habitat for species like cuttlefish and other species on which to lay their eggs, if they were afforded greater protection.
The Skerries Bank, to the south west of Torbay, is made up of undulating sandbanks, and is home to mobile species such as rays, flatfish, sand stars, spider crab and hermit crabs.
However, Seasearch divers did not record any crawfish at Skerries Bank – the only species for which recovery is the conservation objective of the MCZ.
Dr Solandt said: “The Marine Conservation Society suggests a ‘no-take zone’ could be introduced within the site to recover some small areas of larger lobsters, or more specifically, a restriction on crawfish landings from the area – although we understand that local pot fishers generally put back any crawfish caught in pots, and we would encourage a continuation of this practice.
“At Lundy Island, off the North Devon coast, following ten years with a 3.3km² no-take zone, Seasearch divers saw a recovery of crawfish populations in 2012.
“Lobsters have also become larger inside the zone. Larger females produce more eggs, thus eventually resulting in greater numbers of new, baby lobsters exported to areas outside the zones.”
3 Comments
by eponymice
Wednesday, February 20 2013, 5:35PM
“@ mrtappers
There is no mention of banning tourists or locals from any beaches, just controlling activities such as bottom trawling and anchoring in areas of the seabed that would benefit from protection. Such action will not impact on local tourism but it will have some consequences for those sections of the local fishing industry who trawl/dredge for scallops.
I love to eat scallops but I am happy to spend a bit more for those harvested by diving rather than by a method which, it is evident, causes damage to the seabed environment.
As for seagrass, it is a valuable element of our marine ecosystem - the beds are used as a nursery, protecting young fish and shellfish, which eventually become the food of larger fish and so on, rising up the food chain.
There is no indication in this article that activities such as sailing, angling or swimming should be banned for the simple reason that they are unlikely to have any adverse impact on the sensitive areas of the seabed in Torbay and the Skerries Bank.”
by mrtappers
Wednesday, February 20 2013, 4:32PM
“Lets propose all tourist and locals should not be allowed on the beaches as well so that the shore life can live happily as well.What a load of rubbish who can see this seagrass in torbay ,Oh yes only the divers who are reknown to own the seabed ,holiday makers will not benefit from a blokes word at all .Dolphins do not come into the bay to race boats and pose for pictures ,they come to feed on fish not grass ,mackeral are attracted by sprats and other small fish,Bass come for prawn and eels and all these fish are already in the bay,what else do the tree huggers want to ban next ,sailing ,swimming, angling and all pleasure boats because these will scare the biodiversity of the bay,and as for banning moorings,perhaps they should ban morons who dream up this rubbish.”
by JasonDC
Wednesday, February 20 2013, 4:01PM
“This will be great for Torbay , not only for the environment but also for the people that will benefit from having more sealife in teh bay, divers, anglers, beachcombers, etc.
For too long a small minority of trawlermen have been allowed to exploit and destroy the waters in Torbay.”