Fish Stocks Thrive Thanks to This Pink Seaweed and Locals Who Protected It.
Ten years after scallop dredging was banned across a 600 sq km protected area in north-west Scotland, residents who campaigned for the ban report returning marine life and held a festival to mark the anniversary.
Residents of Achiltibuie, on the north-west coast of Scotland, held a weekend-long Maerl and Herring festival to mark 10 years since scallop dredging was banned in nearby waters. Local people, divers, activists and creel fishers had campaigned for the ban, which became law in 2016 across a 600 sq km (150,000 acre) zone now known as the Wester Ross marine protected area.
The area holds beds of maerl, a pink seaweed that forms hard, chalky, coral-like skeletons that serve as nurseries for scallops and fish. Marine biologist Jason Hall-Spencer carbon dated the maerl in the bay at 9,000 years old. He wrote a report on the habitat for the Blue Hope Alliance, a coalition of local groups, partly funded by NatureScot. He says the ban has "protected the maerl to a massive extent". He added that a single pass of heavy towed gear can crush or bury up to 70% of maerl.
Local people describe a recovery in marine life. Alasdair Hughson, a scallop diver and chair of the Scottish Creel Fishermen's Federation, said scallop stocks had recovered strongly. A decade ago, a boat supplying his company with hand-dived scallops could work the Summer Isles for only two weeks. The creel boat Donna Marie now works there almost all year, and its skipper, Gary Lewis, said the seabed's general health had improved. Residents also reported more sightings of whales, dolphins and porpoises, and a large herring spawning ground was spotted nearby. Hughson acknowledged that his business stands to gain from the ban.
The page offers no formal fish stock figures. Peter Drake, a retired prawn fisherman who was part of the campaign, said: "There’s already an improvement in fish populations, but it will take time." Blue Hope Alliance surveys also found maerl damaged in some places, from illegal dredging and from invasive algal growth that scientists believe may be caused by nutrients from salmon farms. Theresa Ross, who runs the village store, said more people in the village work on fish farms than in fishing, and that the farms offer steady, well-paid jobs.
The alliance has begun a three-year project with more than £153,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, plus funding from members of the North & West District Salmon Fishery Board. The Scottish government, criticized in June by Environmental Standards Scotland for not meeting its duty to protect the seabed, has opened a consultation on stronger protections for marine habitats.
Note: The headline says fish stocks are thriving. The page reports local accounts of recovery and a few catch observations, gives no formal stock figures, and quotes a campaigner saying improvement will take time.
At a Glance
- Scallop dredging was banned by law in 2016 across a 600 sq km marine protected area in Wester Ross, Scotland.
- Carbon dating put the maerl in the bay at 9,000 years old, according to biologist Jason Hall-Spencer.
- A single pass of heavy towed gear can crush or bury up to 70% of maerl, the report author says.
- The Blue Hope Alliance launched a three-year project backed by more than £153,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
- About 250 people live along the stretch of coastline around Achiltibuie.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.