Video-based study examines Irish Sea 'scampi' stocks

A cross-border study into the quantities of Dublin Bay Prawn in the Irish Sea, an industry worth over £50 million-a-year to the fishing industry at first sale, has been completed.

The Aquatic Systems Group of the School of Agriculture and Food Science at Queen’s University and staff from the Marine Institute in Galway took part in the study which involved a new underwater video research technique.

The Dublin Bay Prawn, or Nephrops, is locally prepared in breadcrumbs or batter and sold as the popular dish known as ‘scampi’.

The Irish Sea stocks are exploited mainly in the waters west of the Isle of Man. Most landings in this area are by fleets from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland with a combined first sale annual value of about £10 million, making this the most valuable single fishery in these waters.

Describing the project Dr Richard Briggs of the Aquatic Systems Group said: “Early attempts to assess the state of Nephrops stocks were from interpretations based on the trends in the average size of animals in catches.

"More recently, however, methods have evolved which apply computer-based mathematical models to commercial catch data, as is done to assess fin-fish stocks such as cod.

"Now, a new method is being employed, using underwater video to study prawns in their natural habitat.”

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