Devon fishermen sought for survey
30th March 2022
A project investigating inshore and offshore habitats of bass and pollack is seeking help from South Devon fishermen, reports Paul Scott.
The University of Plymouth’s ‘FISH INTEL’ team will be tagging bass and pollack between Plymouth and Lyme Bay this year, and is looking to collect ecological knowledge and background information from Plymouth and South Devon fishermen.
Dr Alice Hall from the University of Plymouth’s School of Biological and Marine Services told Fishing News: “The FISH INTEL project is using acoustic tracking equipment to understand the movement and behaviour of key species across the English Channel.
“We understand the importance of local ecological knowledge, and would like to feed this into our research and future management plans.”
The FISH INTEL team says it is also keen to ‘identify any additional benefits of fishing for bass and pollack, including cultural importance and health and wellbeing’.
Alice Hall, who will be conducting telephone interviews with those fishermen willing to take part in the survey, said: “Local fishers have a vast amount of information on fishing practices and changes in abundance and distribution over time. We would really appreciate their input.”
The survey is open until the end of May, and any fisherman interested in taking part is asked to contact Dr Hall at: alice.hall@ plymouth.ac.uk
This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.30 here.
