Marine Life & Conservation
New Good Fish Guide ratings spell trouble for trawled cuttlefish
The latest update of the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Good Fish Guide sees cuttlefish, trawl caught from the English Channel, join the marine charity’s ‘Fish to Avoid’ list, ringing alarm bells for the future health of the enigmatic species in UK waters.
Assessing what species are caught using which method and where, the Good Fish Guide provides a traffic light system to illustrate the health of the UK’s commercial fish populations. Red rated stocks join the charity’s ‘Fish to Avoid’ list, whilst green rated are the most sustainable options and considered the ‘Best Choice’.
Cuttlefish are one of the most intelligent invertebrates, with a large brain allowing them to learn and remember. Recently, the mollusc was even found to eat less during the day if their favourite meal is on offer in the evening. A chameleon of the sea, cuttlefish are also able to change colour to blend in with their surroundings, despite being colour blind themselves. When they feel threatened cuttlefish produce clouds of ink. This ink, alongside the cuttlefish’s staggering increase in commercial value, is what gives them the nickname ‘black gold’.
Charlotte Coombes, Good Fish Guide Manager: “Between 2008 and 2017, catches of cuttlefish more than doubled. Additionally, numbers of cuttlefish reported in 2017 could be the lowest on record. The dramatic increase in catches, alongside several reports identifying a rapid decline in cuttlefish populations in the English Channel, has led to a red rating in the update to the Good Fish Guide.”
The dramatic growth in cuttlefish catches over the last decade has been fuelled by a huge increase in the value of cuttlefish – which has more than doubled from around £1.50 per kilo in 2008 to around £3.60 per kilo in 2017. In fact, landings into the UK in 2018 were worth a staggering £14.9 million. While much of what the UK catches is exported to other countries in Europe, there’s growing interest in the UK due to its similarity in taste to squid, and it may well start to appear more on local restaurant menus in the near future.
Shockingly, given the scale of the fishery, there are currently no catch limits in place, no restrictions on where or when these animals can be caught, no minimum size limits, and no plans to make sure that populations stay at sustainable levels. These factors contribute to MCS adding trawled English Channel cuttlefish to its ‘Fish to Avoid’ list. Of real concern is the fact that the vast majority (over 90%) of the cuttlefish that are being caught haven’t yet had the chance to breed. They’re caught in trawls, offshore, before they can come inshore to lay their eggs. Some forms of bottom trawling can also cause significant habitat damage, affecting not only cuttlefish but seabed habitats and other marine animals which call the English Channel home. If too many cuttlefish are removed before they can breed, the population will really struggle to sustain itself.
Coombes continues: “MCS urgently wants to see management keeping up with the growth of this fishery to protect cuttlefish during their spawning season, and to ensure the population can stay healthy from one year to the next.”
A smaller proportion of cuttlefish are caught inshore, in pots and traps, when they come inshore to breed. While some of these pots will catch the fish before they can breed, others will catch them right at the end of their lives, after they’ve bred, making for a much more sustainable fishing model. Pots and traps have a low impact on the seabed and other species, and there are more management measures to control inshore fishing in some areas, meaning more opportunity to control catch numbers. These fisheries are rated 4, so whilst not a ‘Fish to Avoid’, it is recommended that people seek alternatives where possible.
Other movements in the Good Fish Guide include:
- Brown crab, caught in creels (pots) around Shetland, has bounced back following a reduction in fishing pressure and tighter control rules on harvesting and is now green rated by MCS, joining the ‘Best Choice’ list
- Non-certified pole & line-caught skipjack tuna from the Indian Ocean has moved off the Best Choice list and is now amber rated by MCS
- Atlantic wolffish in Iceland has moved off the ‘Fish to Avoid’ list and is now amber rated
- Queen scallops from the Isle of Man are now red rated and all populations caught around the Isle of Man are ‘Fish to Avoid’
Trawl caught cuttlefish and Isle of Man queen scallop now join wild Atlantic halibut, European eel, and several fisheries for cod on MCS’s Red Rated list. Due to fishing pressure, habitat damage and diminishing numbers, urgent action is required to recover these populations to healthy levels. Take the pledge and ‘Say No to Red Rated’ at www.mcsuk.org/red-rated
You can download the Good Fish Guide app, visit the Guide via the MCS website or grab the Pocket Good Fish Guide to ensure that you’re making the most sustainable seafood choices possible.
Marine Life & Conservation
Leading UK-based shark conservation charity, the Shark Trust, is delighted to announce tour operator Diverse Travel as a Corporate Patron
Corporate Patrons provide a valuable boost to the work of The Shark Trust. The Trust team works globally to safeguard the future of sharks, and their close cousins, the skates and rays, engaging with a global network of scientists, policymakers, conservation professionals, businesses and supporters to further shark conservation.
Specialist tour operator Diverse Travel has operated since 2014 and is committed to offering its guests high quality, sustainable scuba diving holidays worldwide. Working together with the Shark Trust will enable both organisations to widen engagement and encourage divers and snorkellers to actively get involved in shark conservation.
“Sharks are truly at the heart of every diver and at Diverse Travel, we absolutely share that passion. There is nothing like seeing a shark in the wild – it’s a moment that stays with you forever!” says Holly Bredin, Sales & Marketing Manager, Diverse Travel.
“We’re delighted to celebrate our 10th year of business by becoming a Corporate Patron of the Shark Trust. This is an exciting partnership for Diverse and our guests. We will be donating on behalf of every person who books a holiday with us to contribute towards their vital shark conservation initiatives around the world. We will also be working together with the Trust to inspire divers, snorkellers and other travellers to take an active role – at home and abroad – in citizen science projects and other activities.”
Paul Cox, CEO of The Shark Trust, said:
“It’s an exciting partnership and we’re thrilled to be working with Diverse Travel to enable more divers and travellers to get involved with sharks and shark conservation. Sharks face considerable conservation challenges but, through collaboration and collective action, we can secure a brighter future for sharks and their ocean home. This new partnership takes us one more valuable step towards that goal.”
For more information about the Shark Trust visit their website here.
For more about Diverse Travel click here.
Marine Life & Conservation
Shark Trust Asks Divers to help with Shark Sightings this Global Citizen Science Month
Whether you are stuck for ideas of what to do with the kids or are off on the dive trip of your dreams. You can get involved in Citizen Science Month and help the Shark Trust by providing vital data about sharks are rays both close to home and further afield.
In addition to reporting the sharks and rays you see on your dives, the eggcases you find on the beach, the Shark Trust is looking for some specific data from divers who are asked to report any Oceanic Whitetip and Basking Sharks.
Oceanic Whitetip Sharks
The Shark Trust are looking specifically for Oceanic Whitetip Shark sightings over the coming weeks and months. So, if you are diving anywhere in the world, please report your sightings via the website or app.
Website: https://recording.sharktrust.org/
App: Search The Shark Trust in your app store
The Oceanic Whitetip. Known for their incredibly long dorsal and pectoral fins, this species was once the most abundant oceanic-pelagic species of shark on the planet.
Large and stocky, they are grey or brown above, and white below and famous for their huge rounded first dorsal fin and paddle-like pectoral fins. The fins also highly prized within the shark fin trade. Whilst they are mostly solitary, Oceanic Whitetips do occasionally hunt in groups.
An inquisitive species, they were easy prey for fisheries. Combined with their low reproductive rate, they were inevitably at high risk of population depletion. And declines of up to 99% have been reported in certain sea areas. They are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Redlist (2019).
Conservation efforts to discourage further declines include listing on CITES Appendix II and CMS Appendix I. They’re also the only species prohibited from take by all the Tuna RFMOs (Regional Fisheries Management Organisations). However, these measures do not mean that Oceanic Whitetips are not still caught – whether targeted or as bycatch – in some parts of the world. With populations declining at such a high rate, effective implementation of management measures is essential to ensure that the species can recover.
If you are lucky enough to get an image of an Oceanic Whitetip and you record your sighting on the Shark Trust app or website YOU CAN WIN! All images submitted with sightings, that also give consent to use in conservation messaging, will be in with a chance to win an Oceanic Whitetip T-shirt and mug. The competition will run until the end of “Shark Month” in July – so keep those sightings (and images) coming in.
Basking Sharks
Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus) season is upon us, and the Shark Trust is asking everyone to keep an eye out for these majestic giants over the summer months. If you see any, you can record your sighting to the Basking Shark Sightings database.
Each year, these mighty fish return to British waters to feed on plankton. You may see one, (or a few if you’re really lucky) from around April-October. They can be seen feeding at the surface of the water, where they look like they’re basking in the sun. Thus, their name!
Sighting hotspots around the British Isles include southwest England, Isle of Man, north coast of Ireland, and western Scotland. The Sea of the Hebrides is the most prolific sightings area in Scotland, but they have been spotted all around the coast and have even ventured into some of the sea lochs. The Shark Trust has received thousands of sightings since the Basking Shark project began, but more data is needed to truly understand what is going on with population numbers and distribution. You can help by recording your sightings this summer.
Great Eggcase Hunt
The Shark Trust has an Easter Egg Hunt with a difference for you to try. Take part in the Great Eggcase Hunt and get involved with a big citizen science project that helps shark, ray and skate conservation. And it’s an enjoyable activity for all the family.
The Shark Trust also want snorkellers and divers to record their underwater eggcase findings. Underwater records help pinpoint exactly where sharks and skates are laying their eggs and can help link to beach records. Learning the depth and substrate that they lay on also helps better understand the species.
Find out more: https://www.sharktrust.org/great-eggcase-hunt
Whether you are diving, snorkelling or exploring on the beach you can take part in Citizen Science Month and get actively involved in shark and ray conservation. Find out more: www.sharktrust.org
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