Tag Archives: Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation
Berried lobster catches could force ban on fishermen
Shetland will enforce Scotland’s first ban on landing egg-bearing lobsters in a conservation move driven by local fishermen. The new regulation agreed by the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation outlaws the practice of boats keeping so-called berried lobsters, which carry many thousands of eggs. SSMO say that preventing the removal of these lobsters will help protect the spawning stock needed for a sustainable fishery. SSMO inshore co-ordinator John Robertson said: “This ban is seen by many fishermen as a positive way they can boost stocks in the absence of a lobster hatchery in Shetland. “It was the fishermen who called for the ban and they backed it in a vote conducted last year by the SSMO. >click to read< 13:10
Shellfish industry accuses conservation group of ‘smear campaign’ against scallop fishery
Shetlands inshore shellfish industry and local marine scientists have strongly condemned what they describe as a “series of false allegations” from a conservation organisation about the sustainability of king scallops from the islands. The Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation (SSMO) and NAFC Marine Centre has accused campaign group Open Seas of a “smear campaign” after it called for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) not to renew its accreditation of scallops. click here to read the story 10:23
