Brown crab

There is concern for biomass, and no concern for fishing pressure of brown crab in the Isle of Man.Route 2 (data limited) scoring has been applied to this rating owing to a lack of reference points for biomass and fishing pressure. Brown crab has a high resilience to fishing pressure.Brown crab landings from the Isle of Man's territorial sea have fluctuated between 400 and 600 tonnes annually since 2010. The highest recorded landings occurred in 2018, exceeding 575 tonnes, while the lowest was in 2020 at approximately 400 tonnes. Following this dip, landings steadily increased, reaching around 560 tonnes in 2023, before declining slightly to 534 tonnes in 2024. If landings were to rise above the historical range, there could be concern for fishing pressure in the future. However, the 2024 figure remains within the historical range, indicating no current cause for concern.Landings per unit effort (LPUE) is used to indicate stock trends. Although LPUE has fluctuated annually, there has been an overall decline between 2010 and 2024 - from 1.1 kg to 0.8 kg per pot, representing a 25% reduction. This downward trend leads to concerns for the stock biomass of the area.

Management of the stock is partially effective and effort limits are in place, including a vessel pot limit. However, measures are not responsive to stock status and therefore do not adequately control the fishery to prevent overexploitation.To fish commercially for crab and lobster in the Isle of Man (IOM) territorial waters (0-12 nautical miles), vessels are required to be British registered and licensed with an entitlement to catch shellfish and have an IOM Sea Fishing License with a specific license to catch crab and lobster. Since 2016, a moratorium (temporary suspension) on new crab and lobster licences has been in place to prevent overfishing caused by displaced effort from other fisheries. For the 2020/2021 season, there were 49 active licences, and 2 inactive.IOM crab and lobster fisheries are not limited by Total Allowable Catch (TAC) regulations, and therefore are not limited in the number of crabs and lobsters they can take. Instead, the IOM has implemented effort controls through pot limitations:Vessels restricted to maximum 500 pots in territorial waters.Including, no more than 300 pots to be fished within 0-3nm zone.Fishing capacity which has been authorised, but not used, known as latent capacity, is a challenge for managing the fishery. Approximately 6150-7100 pots are allocated to vessels but not actively deployed, representing around 30% of total pot allocation. To address this, a new policy has been introduced to improve the management of latent licences. Commercial crab and lobster licences will now only be issued to applicants who can demonstrate an adequate track record of having fished these species commercially for at least one day between 2016 and 2019.This fishery is also covered by the Western Waters Regime, with vessels 15m and above restricted to 220 days at sea in ICES area 7 between 1 January and 31 December.Other conservation methods within this fishery include:A Minimum Conservation Reference Size (MCRS) of 140mm carapace width.A ban on landing berried crabs, removing eggs (‘scrubbing’), and the de-clawing of crabs.All pots within the 0-3nm zone must be fitted with escape gaps and identification tags.The Marine Conservation Society views Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) with cameras is one of the most cost-effective tools for providing reliable fisheries data and aiding informed management decisions. Fully monitored fisheries enhance collaboration, data accuracy, stock recovery, and reduce impacts on marine wildlife and habitats. However, the full potential of REM may only be achieved when it tracks fishing location and documents catch and bycatch, particularly where vulnerable species and habitats are at risk. As of January 2024, the EU is introducing a Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) mandate for EU vessels, including CCTV cameras on vessels 18m or more that pose a potential risk of non-compliance, within the next 4 years. Across the UK, different approaches to REM are being taken and legislation is expected to be in place across all 4 countries within the next few years.The Fisheries Act (2020) requires the development of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) (replacing EU Multi-Annual Plans) in the UK. 43 FMPs have been proposed and are at various stages of development and implementation, these should all be published by the end of 2028. FMPs have the potential to be very important tools for managing UK fisheries, although data limitations may delay them for some stocks. It is also essential the UK governments define and adopt a standardised approach or model across the four nations to a universally defined FMP design, to ensure the consistence, quality and coherence of all the proposal FMPs.The Marine Conservation Society is keen to see publicly available Fishery Management Plans for all commercially exploited stocks, especially where stocks are depleted, that include:An overview of the fishery including current stock status, spatial coverage, current fishing methods and impactsTargets for fishing pressure and biomass, and additional management when those targets are not being met, based on the best scientific evidenceTimeframes for stock recoveryImproved data collection, transparency, and accountability, supported by technologies such as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM)Consideration of wider environmental impacts of the fishery, including habitat impacts and minimising bycatchStakeholder engagement

Crab pots have low seabed impacts when deployed and retrieved correctly. They are also selective towards larger individuals, and can mitigate bycatch through escape panels.In the UK, brown crab and European lobster are fished together in a mixed fishery with seasonal and regional variation of target species taking place. The key fishing season for brown crab in the UK takes place from May to December. Crabs are caught in pots, also known as creels, and can be fished individually or as part of a fleet of up to 100 pots, depending on the size of the boat and crew. Pots are portable traps made of wood or steel wire and plastic. The crab is baited into the initial part (the chamber) and moves into the secondary part (the parlour) where it becomes trapped.In brown crab fisheries, there is no legislation or regulation to standardise the type of pot used. They tend to be highly selective as undersized animals can be returned to the sea alive and survival rates for non-target organisms are thought to be high. More than half of the bycatch caught are predicted to survive, although there is little available research to prove this. Measures to further reduce bycatch include the use of escape panels to allow undersize animals and bycatch to escape pots.Habitat impacts from potting are low but can occur during deployment, soak time or hauling of the pot, impacting the benthic habitat and associated species through contact with the pot or end weight, or by scouring from ropes. Research that has taken place suggests that while some damage does occur, it is unlikely to be significant unless potting intensity is high (defined as approximately 30 pots per 500 square metres). The most damage occurs when traps are set in sensitive habitats, including seagrass beds. These ecosystems play a crucial role in supporting marine biodiversity by providing nursery grounds, shelter from predators, and settlement areas for invertebrate spat.To safeguard these vulnerable habitats, several marine areas have been designated as Marine Nature Reserves (MNRs) in Isle of Man territorial waters. Static fishing gear (including pots) are allowed, except in the following eelgrass conservation zones: Baie Ny Carrickey, Langness, Laxey Bay and Ramsey Bay.Lost pots can pose an additional risk to marine life through ‘ghost fishing’, where abandoned gear continues to trap and entangle species. As fishing gear is a financial investment, there is incentive to maintain and recover lost pots. The occurrence of ghost fishing can also be reduced by the use of appropriate gear designs and release devices.To improve monitoring and reporting of fishing activity, The Marine Conservation Society would like to see remote electronic monitoring (REM) with cameras implemented, used and enforced.

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