Gairloch campaigners urge Scottish Government to protect ‘first herring eggs in decades’
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
WESTER Ross campaigners are urging the Scottish Government to respond to advice to protect the “first herring eggs in decades” which could “revive previously abundant fisheries”.
On March 12, a team of local scientists found vast areas of herring eggs north-west of Gairloch.
This was the first time spawning had been recorded in this area of the seabed for decades.
However, the spawning habitat has no form of fisheries management in place, despite the Scottish Government’s acknowledgement that the seabed is a Priority Marine Feature that needs protection.
SEE ALSO:
New lugger fest for Ullapool - details unveiled
Traditional herring boat launches from Loch Broom
Herring hunt app launched to reel in info on silver darlings
“We've got a 50-mile stretch of coastline that has been identified as important herring spawning grounds, with zero conservation or protection in place,” said local fisherman, Ian McWhinney.
Scientific advice recommends that adverse activities for herring spawning grounds shouldn’t occur. However, scallop dredging, a type of fishing which disturbs the top layer of seabed, is known to take place in the area.
Mr McWhinney said: “On several occasions over the past six years the creel sector has requested fishing restrictions in these areas in line with The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas’ (ICES) advice that herring spawning grounds should not be disturbed by activities such as scallop dredging – but government has yet to respond.
“This means we've got a 50-mile stretch of coastline that has been identified as important herring spawning grounds, with zero conservation or protection in place.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Management measures for the most vulnerable sites in the Scottish Marine Protected Area network were implemented in 2016, and putting in place the remaining fisheries management measures to protect priority marine feature and marine protected areas remains a top government priority.”
Historically, herring was abundant in the west Highlands, and highly important to the local economy. West coast herring stocks today are unable to support commercial fishery.
Local fishermen say they have been calling on the Scottish Government to protect herring spawning habitats in the waters for years.
Steve Truluck, tour guide for Hebridean Whale Cruises, said: “These eggs are part of the bigger picture - they feed our whales, which provide income for the community, joy for visitors and most importantly, the air we breathe and carbon sequestration in the fight against climate change.”
Sue Pomeroy of Little Loch Broom Marine Life said: “While it’s exciting to see herring spawning taking place here, it’s also worrying that these vital spawning habitats are at risk of being degraded by scallop dredging.
“Herring is culturally and historically significant to Gairloch, and recovery of stocks with more investment would revive our previously abundant fisheries.”
There are calls to protect Gairloch’s herring spawning areas, join a wider call for broader restrictions on inshore bottom trawling and dredging around Scotland’s coastal zone.
Our Seas, a coalition of over 130 organisations urging for the coastal seabed to be protected, argue that reinstating a modern limit on dredging and bottom-trawling, the most destructive forms of fishing used in Scottish inshore waters, would restore biodiversity
Hayley Wolcott, co-ordinator of Our Seas said: “Scotland’s inshore fisheries have been in decline since the inshore trawling ban was removed in the ‘80s.
“A vibrant and diverse fishing industry which once caught cod, herring, and whiting now primarily relies on shellfish. If our inshore waters were protected then these vital habitats could recover for the benefit of sustainable fishing, coastal communities and future generations.”
