King scallop

Information about Scottish West Coast king scallops is limited. There is not enough information to determine whether the population is at a healthy size, although it appears to be growing. Fishing effort has been decreasing, so there is not currently concern for fishing pressure. King scallop fishing in the west coast of Scotland developed in the 1970s. Landings peaked at around 6,500 tonnes in 2002 but have since declined to around 2,350t.Route 2 (data limited) scoring has been applied to this rating owing to the lack of a recent stock assessment. King scallops are considered to have high resilience to fishing pressure.The most recent stock assessments for scallops in Scottish waters were carried out in 2016. Annual scallop surveys have been carried out since then, but no stock assessments have been made available. The four survey areas are: Shetland, West Coast, North East Coast and East Coast. A fifth assessment area is in Orkney, where the first survey was carried out in 2019. Covid disruption has prevented additional surveys since then and there is no stock assessment for Orkney. This rating covers the West Coast (incorporating North West, Clyde and West of Kintyre).The 2016 stock assessment did not provide reference points for biomass for West Coast scallops, and could not provide any stock assessment for the Clyde area. However, it did show that the spawning stock biomass (SSB) was the highest on record in the North West zone and stable at high levels in the West of Kintyre. Fishing pressure was estimated to be at the long-term average in the North West, and low in the West of Kintyre.From 2017-2021, fishing effort for scallops in Scotland in general declined, and scallop landings per unit of effort (kW Days) increased. This suggests a potential increase in stock sizes. Scallop landings from the West Coast averaged 2,351 tonnes between 2018 and 2022. Landings have steadily declined since 2014, reaching 2,036t in 2022 - the lowest since records began in 1982.The changes in effort and the increase in LPUE suggest that scallop stocks have been able to grow under current levels of fishing pressure. Therefore, we consider there to be no concern for fishing pressure. However, there is no stock-specific data to indicate how effort or LPUE has changed for the West Coast stocks, and no benchmark to indicate what a healthy stock size would be. As a result of these data limitations, we remain concerned for the biomass until stock assessments can be provided.

Few appropriate management measures are in place to control scallop fishing in Scotland. Improvements are needed to improve understanding of the stock and the fishery, ensure that vessels are complying with regulations, and protect both scallop stocks and habitats.Most of the scallop catch from the Scottish West Coast is by Scottish vessels (around 90%), and the remainder is from England, the Isle of Man, and Northern Ireland. There is currently no Fishery Management Plan, harvest strategy, or quota for scallops in Scotland. There are also no recent stock assessments to inform management. Management cannot therefore be responsive to changes in stock, and does not adequately ensure that fishing is controlled to protect the species. Management requires considerable improvement.Scallop dredge fisheries in Scotland, including the West Coast, are managed through the Regulation of Scallop Fishing (Scotland) Order 2017. Measures include:A minimum landing size (MLS) of 105mm to protect the breeding stock. Scallops are thought to mature at age 3 or around 80mm, although growth rates vary. Therefore, juveniles are protected. However, it is smaller than the MLS elsewhere in the UK, which is 110mm, and may not adequately protect the breeding stock because scallop reproductivity increases with size.Licenses for those who hadn't fished from 2011-2017 were suspended in 2017 to restrict future effort increases. Vessel owners can only get licenses for replacement vessels if they are not more powerful than the previous vessel, also to restrict future effort increases. In 2021 there were 71 active scallop fishing vessels in Scotland, a reduction from 86 in 2020.A number of areas are closed to scallop dredging to protect the seabed. Seabed protection is important not only to control the impacts of scallop dredging, but to ensure that conditions are suitable for future scallop populations.The number of dredges that boats can use in 0-12nm is limited to 16, increasing to 28 in any other part of the Scottish zone (out to 200nm). There are some exemptions. For example, in the 6-12nm zone, 20 dredges can be used if vessels are using REM. These inshore limits are higher than in Wales, the Isle of Man and England, where the maximum in the 0-6nm zone varies from 8-12, and up to 16 in the 6-12nm zone.Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) is required on some scallop dredgers. It must have 2 cameras to record setting and hauling fishing gear, winch sensors to record when fishing is happening, and GPS to ping location every 10 seconds. Those that are fishing within 0-6nm with 16 dredges or less (8 per side, each on a towbar of up to 7.5 metres) do not need REM.The Marine Conservation Society responded to the 2014 consultation on the Regulation of Scallop Fishing (Scotland) Order. Our position is that:The minimum landing size should be 110mmA night time curfew in the inshore zone is needed to protect mobile benthic speciesMore spatial closures are needed to better protect scallop grounds and vulnerable habitatsThe footprint of the fishery should be frozen to prevent expansion onto new habitatsIn 2023, the Scottish government confirmed that REM would be made mandatory on all scallop dredge vessels, but had not defined a timeline for this at the time of writing (December 2023). The implementation of REM across the scallop dredge fleet is very positive. MCS believes that Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) with cameras is one of the most cost-effective tools fisheries managers have for delivering reliable fisheries data and for making informed management decisions. Fully accountable and fully monitored fisheries can improve collaboration and data accuracy, supporting stock recovery, improved selectivity, and minimisation of impacts on marine wildlife and habitats. However, this can only be fully realised if REM is used not only for mapping locations of fishing activity, but also documenting catch and bycatch, especially where there is a risk of impacts on vulnerable species and habitats.In addition, there has been a process since to rollout inshore Vessel Monitoring Systems (i-VMS) on Scottish vessels under 12m since 2020. It was reported that the scallop sector was nearing completion in 2022. This should improve understanding of where dredging is happening in the inshore zone, if and when the data is shared.There have been some suspected instances, and at least one confirmed instance of a scallop dredger operating illegally inside Scottish MPAs. There is no evidence that this is occurring on a large scale but we would strongly encourage commercial buyers to verify the catch locations of their scallops.In the 0-6nm zone, there are also non-statutory Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups (RIFGs). They do not have powers to set byelaws or implement management measures. The west coast, from the English border up to Cape Wrath, was covered by one RIFG (West Coast) until January 2023, when it was split into the North West and South West RIFGs. The Outer Hebrides also have an Inshore Fisheries Group (OHIFG). WC and OH RIFGs published Fisheries Management Plans in 2021 that are based on Scottish Government's Scottish Inshore Fisheries Strategy. WCRIFG's Fisheries Management Plan includes investigating management measures to conserve scallop stocks and reduce gear conflict, including increased MLS for scallops from MPAs, effort control, closed areas and seasons, and a stock assessment for the Clyde. In the Outer Hebrides, there are seasonal scallop dredging prohibitions in certain areas. There is also a Scallop Dredge Code to manage conflict with static gear such as brown crab creels. OHIFG's Fisheries Management Plan includes research into dredges with lower impact ('eco-dredge'), increasing MLS to 110mm, mapping scallop grounds and improving logbooks for better data collection.Project UK is implementing Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) on twelve UK fisheries that are important to the UK market. This includes dredged scallops around the UK. The FIP began in 2019 and has an end date of April 2024, at which point it should be ready to undergo MSC certification.The FIP has been successful in tackling some issues, including improving understanding of stock boundaries, bycatch and habitat impacts. These outcomes are not inconsiderable. However, there has been very little change to how scallop fishing is carried out, and there is not enough in place to protect scallops from being overfished. For example, there is no harvest strategy that can respond to stock status by reducing fishing pressure when stocks decline. There also appears to have been no change in fishing practices to reduce bycatch or habitat impacts. Therefore, we do not consider the FIP to have addressed all key environmental issues in this fishery, and it does not meet GFG guidelines for application of a FIP Improver score.The annual FIP report from 2024 indicates that it currently is failing on harvest strategy and harvest control rules, which will prevent it from achieving certification. The FIP lists Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) as a delivery mechanism for improvements. The proposed FMP for king scallops in England and Wales does not include a harvest strategy, although it does include a proposal to develop one. An FMP in Northern Ireland is expected to be consulted on in 2024. There are no plans to develop a scallop FMP in Scotland. Given that the FIP will end in April 2024, and no FMPs will be delivering harvest strategies or control rules by that point, we do not consider it possible for this key issue to be addressed within the FIP timescale.More information is here and here.

Scallop dredging can be very damaging to seabed habitats and species. Some areas are closed to dredging. However, in the inshore area, highly vulnerable habitats and species remain unprotected.Most scallop catches from the west coast, Clyde and west of Kintyre are by dredging (around 88%). Much of the rest is by diving, which has a much lower impact. The main environmental impact from dredging is its effect on the seabed. This impact varies depending on which habitats the dredging happens on (see below for more details). The inshore 0-3nm zone contains some of the most vulnerable habitats, such as reefs.While work has been undertaken to understand the impact of scallop fishing in Scottish waters, there are still a number of data gaps. Firstly, the under 12m fishing fleet, which is more likely to be fishing close to the shore, has historically not been required to have tracking equipment that can show where it is dredging. However, data from the over 12m fleet shows that dredging is happening inshore. Secondly, more work is needed to map and protect vulnerable habitats. In 2014, Scotland identified 81 Priority Marine Features (PMFs), which are habitats and species that are a priority for conservation. More data is required, as part of Scotland's National Marine Plan, to ensure that PMFs are not significantly impacted by fishing activity, and ensure that inshore waters undergo low-impact fishing.In 2017, legal dredging in Loch Carron, which is within the 0-3nm zone and was the world's largest flameshell bed, resulted in significant damage. Subsequently, emergency protection was put in place and then made permanent to prevent future damage. In 2019, flapper skate eggs (a critically endangered species) were found in an unprotected site, also in the 0-3nm zone. Flapper skate nurseries coincide with areas that are also good scallop dredging grounds, making protection of these areas crucially important for the species. Emergency protection was brought in in 2021 in response. This response by managers is positive, but these incidents highlight the need for a better understanding of the locations of vulnerable habitats and species. It also indicates that the 0-3nm zone is not sufficiently protected from dredging. Scotland’s Marine Assessment 2020 predicts that 83% of the inshore areas on the West Coast (averaged across Solway, Clyde, Argyll, Outer Hebrides, West Hebrides) are subjected to disturbance by fishing, with 46% subjected to high disturbance.The Marine Conservation Society responded to the 2014 consultation on the Regulation of Scallop Fishing (Scotland) Order. Our position is that:There should be a low impact zone from 0-3nm with a presumption against high impact fishing methods such as dredgingA night time curfew in the inshore zone is needed to protect mobile benthic speciesMore spatial closures are needed to better protect scallop grounds and vulnerable habitatsThe footprint of the fishery should be frozen to prevent expansion onto new habitatsScottish inshore scallop dredging is less restricted than elsewhere in the UK. In Scotland, each boat can tow up to 16 dredges in the 0-6nm zone, and up to 20 from 6-12nm if the vessel is using REM. This is higher than in Wales, the Isle of Man and England, where the maximum in the 0-6nm zone varies from 8-12, and up to 16 in the 6-12nm zone.There are a number of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Scottish waters. Some of these are designated to protect the seabed, and are closed to scallop dredging. Others are only partially closed to dredging. There have been some suspected instances, and at least one confirmed instance of a scallop dredger operating illegally inside Scottish MPAs, particularly on the west coast of Scotland. Any scallops known to be caught illegally from an MPA would receive a default red rating on the Good Fish Guide. There is no evidence that this is occurring on a large scale, but we would strongly encourage commercial buyers to verify the catch locations of their scallops.Bycatch by dredges may also be of concern. Non-quota species are allowed to be caught as bycatch in scallop fisheries, as long as they comprise less than 5% of the total catch. Surveys from 2009-2019 have indicated that in Scottish scallop fisheries in general, around 13% of the catch by weight is bycatch, although not all of this is non-quota species. Species commonly encountered include queen scallops, brown crab, whelks and plaice, although differences were observed between the different areas. There is concern for populations of brown crab and whelk in Scotland. However, most (around 75%) of the animals that scallop dredges interact with remain on the seafloor and are not recorded in bycatch surveys.In 2023, the Scottish government confirmed that REM would be made mandatory on all scallop dredge vessels, but had not defined a timeline for this at the time of writing (December 2023). The implementation of REM across the scallop dredge fleet is very positive. MCS believes that fully accountable and fully monitored fisheries can improve selectivity and reduce impacts on marine wildlife and habitats. However, this can only be fully realised if REM is used not only for mapping fishing activity, but also documenting catch and bycatch, especially where there is a risk of impacts on vulnerable species and habitats.About scallop dredging:A typical king scallop dredge, known as a Newhaven dredge, is a heavy steel frame with a chainmail net. There is a toothed bar at the front that penetrates the seabed, flipping the scallop into the net. Dredges are connected to a tow bar that travels over the seabed, and there can be up to 20 dredges per bar. The number of dredges and tow bars are limited by the engine power of the vessel, and by various legislation around the UK.On average, global studies estimate that scallop dredging penetrates seabeds by around 6cm, and can reduce community abundance and species richness by 8-12% per dredge pass. Recovery can take months or years, depending on the species affected. The impacts vary, depending on the type of seabed, the species that live there, and the level of natural disturbance from waves and storms. In more disturbed areas, the habitats and species may be faster growing and more easily able to recover. Sheltered and inshore areas are more likely to have slow-growing, delicate species, like maerl, seagrass, horse mussels and seafans. Sandy areas are generally less sensitive and more easily able to recover. Gravelly seabed communities are more susceptible because they are quite stable and therefore more likely to have larger, longer-lived species.Impacts can include:Removal of species from the seabed and reduction of biodiversity. In particular, it can change the composition of the ecosystem towards shorter lived and faster growing species that can more easily recover from dredging.Reduction in the complexity of the seabed, which can reduce the number of suitable habitats on which species can settle.Resuspension of sediments, which can smother species and prevent photosynthesis or filter feeding.