Enhancing discard survival rate of nephrops

Researchers at NUI Galway’s Ryan Institute are part of a new €2.4m EU-funded project to develop and enhance the sustainability of the European prawn fishery.

Focussing on developing hatchery and ranching technologies, this research will also look at enhancing the survival of discards. Discarding is a major problem for this fishery in particular.

Nephrops norvegicus, also known as ‘Dublin Bay prawn’, ‘langoustine’ or ‘scampi’ is the species of focus in the NEPHROPS project.

The programme is being led by NUI Galway and the Orkney Fisheries Association, and will bring together experts from the fishing industry, technologists and academia across Europe. Dr Colm Lordan of the Marine Institute is also involved in the project.

“Prawn mortality is generally the result of poor handling and inappropriate discard protocols,” Dr Anne Marie Power, a zoology lecturer at NUI Galway told Inshore Ireland.

“After capture by trawl or creel, undersized prawns – which can often be as much as 45% of the catch – may be thrown back. Roughly 75% of discards from trawl fishing may die.”

Hatchery technology
Another aspect of the project is to develop hatchery technology for local fishermen interested in enhancing their fishery by releasing juveniles onto suitable grounds.
“For this research to be successful, we will need to better understand what makes good grounds for prawns; how they behave when they are released, and what can be done to enhance survival at the critical release stage,” explains Dr Power.

The main areas of work for the researchers are identifying suitable inshore prawn habitats, as well as mapping and tagging studies to examine animal movement.

Growth trials will be conducted at the University’s Carna Aquaculture Research facility some 80 kilometres west of Galway city. The project leaders within NUI Galway are Dr Anne Marie Power and Professor Mark Johnson who is also overall scientific leader for the NEPHROPS consortium.

According to Dr Power “Nephrops is a really important fishery in Ireland due to its economic value” and she sees this latest research programme as “a great opportunity to work with industrial partners, especially pot fishermen, to provide more opportunities to sustainably develop the resource”.

NUIG’s share of the project is worth €540,000 alone. Other research institutions involved are the University of Hull, Swansea University, Goteborg University in Sweden and the Technology Institute in Norway. The research has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme managed by REA Research Executive Agency

For more information and a full list of contacts visit www.nephrops.eu