The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture today signed a ground breaking lease with the newly formed Baie Ny Carrickey Crustacean Fishery Management Association, handing responsibility for conservation and management of stocks of crab and lobster in the Bay to local fishermen.
The lease is in place until 31 October 2013 and the Department will shortly issue a consultation document to enable it to gather views on future arrangements for the crab and lobster fishery in the Bay and elsewhere.
Welcoming the move, Phil Gawne MHK, Minister for the Department, said “I have been delighted to be approached by the new association and I welcome their management actions which include limiting the number of pots fished and raising the minimum size of lobsters and crabs which can be landed. They have agreed to carry out extra monitoring of juvenile lobsters and this could, in time, provide invaluable data which will help us understand the fishery better. This is another example of our fishing industry developing into a mature custodian of the marine environment, rather than taking the short term view. We will be carefully monitoring the success of this venture, as it may in due course become a template for other Manx fishermen taking on responsibility for their own fisheries.”
Christian Clugston, a founder member of the Association said “At a time when many fishermen are worried that increases in fishing effort are putting their livelihoods at risk, we are very pleased that we are now in a position to manage effort in our fishery, and ensure that it is sustainably run. We have a responsibility to ensure that we do not overfish the Bay and we will have measures in place to ensure that this is the case. These include scientific monitoring which we will be undertaking ourselves plus advice from independent fisheries scientists.”
Researching your Manx family history can be a very interesting and rewarding hobby. Trace your roots in the Isle of Man with our helpful of guide.
