Ramsey Bay Fishermen are given exclusive rights to exploit the scallop population in the area and work closely with scientists to collect data and manage the fishery
The Fishery
The main fisheries undertaken in the Isle of Man’s territorial sea (12 nautical miles) are for king scallop, queen scallop, crab, lobster and whelk.
The two most valuable fisheries within the Isle of Man’s territorial waters are the king (Pecten maximus) and queen scallops (Aequipecten opercularis)
These species are characterised by different behaviours which requires different fishing methods: a dredge fishery for king scallops and an otter trawl fishery for queen scallops (with a small dredge fishery for queen scallops operating at limited times and within limited fishing areas)
The Issue
Despite their relevance in economics and food security, many scallop fisheries lack the robust management regimes required to regulate effort and landings (especially true of most European scallop fisheries as they were not an EU regulated quota species)
Ramsey Bay was historically a productive fishing ground which was likely to be self-recruiting
It was closed to fishing in December 2009 for three fishing seasons to enable stock recovery following a period of intense overfishing
The Solution
The main king scallop fishery is permitted under license within the 12 mile territorial limit of the Isle of Man with gear and quota restrictions, a minimum size landing and temporal restrictions
This management system is referred to as Regulated Continuous Access (RCA)
Fishermen of Ramsey Bay were given responsibility for strategic decisions on where, when and how much to fish, whilst ensuring that the ecological integrity of the area was maintained.
This novel management system is called territorial user rights fishery (TURF)
In 2017, The Isle of Man Scallop Management Board (SMB), was established by the Department of Environment, Food & Agriculture (DEFA) to promote the protection and management of the King and Queen Scallop fisheries.
The SMB provides recommendations to DEFA on conservation measures for each fishery, such as advice on catch limits and Total Allowable Catches
The Process
The Isle of Man government has sole jurisdiction for fisheries management within the 0-3nm territorial limit. This allowed some legal adaptability to trial co-management of a rights based inshore fisheries within Ramsey Bay
In October 2011, Ramsey Bay was designated as a Marine Nature Reserve (MNR) with five zones covering an area of 94.5 km2 protecting priority habitats including horse mussel reef and maerl beds
Four zones were closed to mobile fishing gear. A fifth zone was designated a fisheries management zone (47.5km2) under a territorial user rights fishery (TURF)
The TURF provided user rights to a limited group of local fishers to harvest king scallops from the area
Eligible participants had to be members of the Manx Fish Producer Organisation (MFPO) and hold an active scallop entitlement for the Regulated Continuous Access (RCA) fishery
All fishers involves in the TURF had access to the wider RCA fishery too
The establishment of the TURF for fishermen belonging to the MFPO provided the basis and legal guarantee to allow the introduction of positive management measures for sustainable fishing, including
Limited harvest (TAC) and effort
A limited fishing season to promote habitat recovery (ie. 1-3 weeks in Ramsey Bay)
Timing the fishery to achieve maximum profitability (opening around more valuable Christmas period)
Cooperative fishing (ie. Reducing the number of individual vessels fishing and the distance steamed)
Pre-fishery surveys to enable fishing to be targeted on high-density areas whilst allowing lower density areas to remain unfished for recovery – this strategy increased harvesting efficiency and lowers fuel use and impacts on the seabed
During the closure period, Ramsey Bay was monitored with annual scientific surveys to monitor stock recovery and during 2013 it was considered to have increased to commercially viable levels
Ramsey Bay was opened as a territorial user rights fishery (TURF) under an initial five year agreement (2013-2018) which has since been extended
From 1 November 2022, DEFA will impose new and adjusted measures relating to dredges-a-side, tow bar length, and teeth numbers in the King Scallop fishery
"Considering that the average size of Manx fishing vessels is in the range of 12 metres in length and thus weather prone, fishermen should be commended for their support for measures that have not only impacted financially on their working patterns but also restricted access to some of their traditional fishing grounds."
