UK FISHERMEN ASKED TO ‘STAY SHARK AND SKATE SAVVY’

UK fishermen asked to ‘Stay Shark and Skate Savvy’ with new guidance to handle bycatch of vulnerable marine animals. New guidance developed in collaboration with the fishing industry aims to help fishermen identify species of bycaught sharks, skates and rays, meet legal obligations on recording, and safely handle and release live individuals. Jointly produced by Clean Catch and the Shark Trust, the guidance is backed by a ‘Stay Shark and Skate Savvy’ campaign running until September with the porbeagle shark, flapper skate and blue skate as figureheads.

A diverse range of sharks, skates and rays, together known as elasmobranchs, are found in British waters. While fishermen can take steps to avoid accidentally capturing these animals, where bycatch occurs, live individuals can still have good odds of surviving if best practice is followed for their handling and release. Sustainable management of elasmobranch stocks also relies on meeting regulations on recording and discarding or retaining bycatch, which can vary between species – making it all the more important to be able to tell species apart.

The ‘Stay Shark Savvy’ and ‘Stay Skate Savvy’ online guides from Clean Catch and the Shark Trust pull together existing guidance from several sources on identifying, recording and – when possible – releasing bycaught elasmobranchs. They are designed to be as easy as possible for fishermen to use, with links to further resources including the Shark Trust’s online advisories providing up-to-date information on regulations, which can change over time. The Shark Trust works globally to improve the conservation status of sharks, skates and rays, while Clean Catch is a Defra-funded programme championing collaborative research and action on monitoring and minimising bycatch of elasmobranchs and other vulnerable marine animals in UK waters.

“We are trying our hardest to reduce bycatch and we’ve been doing that for years,” said one skipper during a recent trip by the Clean Catch team to Brixham, where a workshop was held earlier in the year with the help of the Western Fish Producers’ Organisation (WFPO) to provide input on the guides.

Harry Owen, the WFPO’s Head of Fisheries and Innovation, commented:

“We saw value in engaging with the work on these guides, building on the contributions our members already make to fisheries research and management. Given that regulations around different species of shark, skate and ray are complex and can change over time, we particularly welcome having key up-to-date information all in one place.”

The guide on skates and rays also covers how to tell apart the critically endangered blue and flapper skates, which were previously thought to be a single species called the common skate. The guide highlights key differences between these species such as how their eyes look, with flapper skates having a dark olive-green iris, and blue skates a pale-yellow iris. Accurate identification by fishermen will make the data they record all the more valuable in improving understanding of populations of these animals in British waters and how to protect them.

“Fishermen are on the frontline for shark and skate conservation,’ said Jack Renwick, Fisheries Conservation Officer at the Shark Trust. ‘Elasmobranchs are important for healthy oceans, playing roles like keeping populations of other marine species in check and supporting global biodiversity. But their slow life-cycles make it harder for them to replenish themselves if pressure from fishing or bycatch is too high.”

The Shark Trust maintains a range of advisories for different sharks, skates and rays on its website, which the new guides signpost to. They have also produced illustrations, included in the guides, showing how to handle and release live elasmobranchs in ways that will boost their chance of survival and minimise the risks to fishermen themselves; for example, supporting the animal in the correct way.

Another skipper who spoke to Clean Catch described how they released rays and skates:

“We lower the bins to the deck, and there’s a hole in the side of the ship that’s about two feet above the water. We slide the ray out gently into the water, so there’s minimal stress for them.”

Alongside recording elasmobranch bycatch in vessel logbooks, UK skippers are being encouraged to register for Clean Catch’s voluntary-to-use app, which works in real time with users to record their catch and bycatch – allowing them to look back over their own fishing data and to further contribute to vital fisheries research.

The ‘Stay Shark and Skate Savvy’ campaign to promote the guides and raise awareness of the importance of recording elasmobranch bycatch and safely releasing prohibited ones runs from 4 August till 11 September, a time of year when the chances of encountering species such as porbeagle shark are particularly high. As part of the campaign, stickers are being distributed to fishermen via POs with QR codes to the guides, while a video on social media platforms which Clean Catch has produced in partnership with students at the University of Bristol will feature the guides and interviews with Brixham fishermen.

Amelia White, bycatch policy adviser in Defra, commented:

“With big knowledge gaps remaining around many of the UK’s vulnerable sharks, skates and rays, the data that fishermen can provide is more important than ever, as is the work they can do to avoid bycatch in the first place and release any live animals to minimise population impacts. These new guides are another strand added to the net of all the collaborative work by the fishing industry, conservationists, policymakers, scientists and others to minimise bycatch and help support sustainable and thriving UK fisheries well into the future.”

The ‘Stay Shark and Skate Savvy’ guides, which will be updated over time in step with any changes in regulations, can be found on Clean Catch’s website at www.cleancatchuk.com/resources.

images: Clean Catch