2007/2008 programme

This programme is the final year in the medium-term three-year commitment of Defra to the FSP initiative, and a further £1m was allocated. The established time-series surveys of Northeast cod, western anglerfish, Irish Sea roundfish, and Western Channel sole and plaice received priority, and are scheduled to complete a fifth year of each series by March 2008. Additionally, many ideas for new or update projects were advanced by the fishing industry, and several were granted pending successful planning of and tendering for the work. An extensive year-long largely fisher self-monitoring programme for the 2005 and 2006 year classes of cod in the North Sea (18) was a new initiative, as were projects aimed at evaluating, through tagging, the survival rate of rays in the Thames estuary caught by a variety of fishing methods (19), another largely self-monitoring evaluation of saithe and cod size and quantity taken by the saithe fishery (20), an investigation of discard survival of skates and rays in the Bristol Channel and Celtic Sea (21), an evaluation of the effects of benthic release panels in square-mesh codends (22), and an assessment of the feasibility of establishing a targeted selective fishery for bass in the central and southern North Sea (23). Depending on the availability of funds within the allocation, there will also be an assessment of the impact of an increased minimum landing size for edible crab (24) plus a further evaluation of the viability and sustainability of a targeted razorfish fishery in the Eastern Irish Sea (25). A full list of the programmes and their objectives is given below. Full reports of the projects will be available on this website, listed by vessel name, as they are completed, or they can be accessed directly on the reports page.

The 2007/2008 Projects

Project 1. North East Cod
Purpose: To extend the time-series of surveys of NE coast cod carried out in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 in order to provide year-on-year comparative information on distribution, relative abundance and size/age composition of cod, and to obtain additional information on distribution, relative abundance and size/age composition of whiting and haddock off the NE coast. Timing: October.
Emulator (PDF, 1.17 MB)

Project 2. Western Anglerfish
Purpose: To extend the time-series of surveys to provide data on the distribution, catch rates and length distribution of anglerfish and other species caught using commercial gear off Southwest England. Timing: September/November. 
Billy Rowney and Twilight III. (PDF, 621 KB)

Project 3. Irish Sea Roundfish
Purpose: To repeat the FSP surveys of cod, haddock and whiting in the western and eastern Irish Sea carried out since 2004, maintaining the time-series. The target species are cod, haddock and whiting. Timing: March 2008.
Benaiah IV and Isadale (PDF, 950 KB) 

Project 6. Western Channel Sole and Plaice
Purpose: To extend the time-series of surveys in the Western English Channel in order to provide information on distribution patterns of sole, plaice and other commercial by-catch species, trends in abundance and age composition of sole and plaice, and additional information on the by-catch of species such as cod. Timing: late Autumn.
Lady T Emiel and Carhelmar (PDF, 1.06 MB)

Project 18. North Sea Codwatch. To describe the fine-scale distribution and abundance in time and space of the 2005 and 2006 year classes of cod during 2007, and to better understand the spatial and temporal distribution of aggregations of all ages of cod. Timing: March 2007 - March 2008.
Various vessels - 1st year report (PDF, 1,021 KB)
Various vessels - Interim report to ICES N. Sea WG in Sep 2008 (PDF, 931 KB)

Project 19. Thames Ray Tagging and Survival. To examine, primarily through traditional tagging methods, the survival rates of rays of a range of sizes released after capture by small otter trawlers, gillnetters and linefishing vessels. Timing: April - July 2007.
Various vessels (PDF, 1578 KB)

Project 20. Northern North Sea Saithe. To describe the fine-scale distribution and abundance in time and space of saithe and cod, and to collect specific information on the 2004 and 2005 year classes of saithe and the 2005 and 2006 year classes of cod. Timing: March 2007 - March 2008.
Farnella (PDF, 706 KB)

Project 21. Skate and Ray Discard Survival. To ascertain the likely survival rate of skates and rays discarded as a consequence of the proposed introduction of a maximum landing length, and also to develop on-board species identification guides to enhance the accuracy of data collected by species. Timing: April - July 2007.
Our Olivia Belle (PDF, 583 KB)

Project 22. Benthic Release Panels. To assess the impact of beam trawls on benthic communities, the extent of discarding of so-called trash, and to assess any reduction in commercial catch rates as a consequence of the introduction of such release panels. Timing: June - July 2007.
Admiral Grenville and Twilight III (PDF, 2.79 MB)

Project 23. North East Coast Crab Biology. To investigate the growth rate and aspects of biology of the resident population of edible crabs, to map the suitable crab habitat and to determine whether the type and extent of such habitat restricts crab growth. Timing: Summer 2007.
Wendy Patricia (PDF, 833 KB)

Project 24. Cefas Endeavour GOV trials. To quantify the rate of escape of commercially targeted fish underneath the ground gear and through the gaps between the fishing line and ground gear of the GOV trawl used in the North Sea groundfish survey (research vessel), and to calibrate the catch rates on the research vessel to commercial catch rates using commercial gear and practices on commercial vessels. Timing: Early 2008
Cefas Endeavour (PDF, 255 KB)
Cefas Endeavour (PDF, 264 KB)

How to become involved?

Most of the proposed fishing activities are put out to competitive tender once the partnership's steering committee (which includes Defra and Cefas staff plus representatives of the NFFO), has agreed which ones will be supported. The timing of release of the call for tender is scheduled to allow final agreement of the operational plan between Cefas staff and the successful tenderer a few weeks before each cruise is timed to take place.

Each tender specifies the target objectives, the fishing to be undertaken, the location, the types of gear, and the size of vessel or vessels. Experience of the particular fisheries will be needed, except where new fisheries are being suggested. Each tenderer needs to demonstrate that they meet appropriate safety standards. Defra's Sea Fisheries Inspectors have offered to help where they can with the forms, and so will locally placed Cefas staff.

The tenders are advertised in Fishing News, flagging-up the advertisement in the body of the paper. A month is generally given to reply to the tender, and the dates above give some indication as to when the surveys will take place. Invitation to tender advertisements appear well before the surveys commence.