Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T15:55:06.588Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Fisheries of the Forth, Scotland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

F. G. Howard ,
D. W. McKay  and
A. W. Newton
F. G. Howard
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, Marine Laboratory, P.O. Box 101, Victoria Road, Aberdeen AB9 8DB, Scotland, U.K.
D. W. McKay
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, Marine Laboratory, P.O. Box 101, Victoria Road, Aberdeen AB9 8DB, Scotland, U.K.
A. W. Newton
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, Marine Laboratory, P.O. Box 101, Victoria Road, Aberdeen AB9 8DB, Scotland, U.K.
Get access

Synopsis

Historical aspects of the Firth of Forth fisheries are described, and the present state of the stocks of exploited species is reviewed. The once-substantial pelagic fisheries have declined and now constitute only a minor component of the firth fisheries. Herring fisheries were based on spring spawning herring but the herring now caught in the firth are from stocks of overwintering juveniles of autumn spawning herring. Recent conservation measures have closed many of the firth grounds to herring and sprat fishing. The main demersal species caught are cod, haddock, whiting, plaice and lemon sole. Most landings are from catches made in the middle and outer firths and the North Sea. The demersal pair trawl is now the most important gear used in directed demersal fishing. The most important shellfish fishery is that for the Norway lobster, current landings being valued at £2·4 million. Over-exploitation resulted in a decline in the stocks in the late 1970s. They are now recovering. Recent studies suggest that population characteristics of Norway lobsters are influenced by the physical environment. The firth today is one of the most intensively exploited areas in Scotland for lobster and crabs. Other exploited shellfish include squid, winkles and mussels.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 93 , Issue 3-4: The Natural Environment of the Estuary and Firth of Forth , 1987 , pp. 479 - 494
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anon, 1891. Ninth annual report of the Fishery Board for Scotland 1890. Edinburgh: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Anon, 1980. Report on the Nephrops Working Group. Copenhagen: International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Shellfish Committee, CM1980/K:2.Google Scholar
Anon, 1984. Report of the Nephrops Working Group. Copenhagen: International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Shellfish Committee, CM1984/K:4.Google Scholar
Bailey, N., Howard, F. G. & Chapman, C. J. 1986. Clyde Nephrops: biology and fisheries. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 90B, 501–518.Google Scholar
Bailey, R. S. 1976a. The bycatch of herring in the sprat fisheries. Scottish Fisheries Bulletin 43, 40–44.Google Scholar
Bailey, R. S. 1976b. The Scottish sprat fisheries 1973–1974. Annales biologiques 31, 148–152.Google Scholar
Bailey, R. S. 1977. The Scottish sprat fisheries 1974–1975. Annales biologiques 32, 146–148.Google Scholar
Bailey, R. S. & Edelsten, B. E. 1978. The Scottish sprat fisheries in 1975 and 1976. Annales biologiques 33, 144–146.Google Scholar
Bailey, R. S. & Edelsten, B. E. 1979. The Scottish sprat fisheries in 1976 and 1977. Annales biologiques 34, 188–190.Google Scholar
Chapman, C. J. 1976. Some observations on populations of the Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (L.) using diving, television and photography. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, special meeting on population assessment of shellfish stocks, Paper 20. Copenhagen: ICES.Google Scholar
Chapman, C. J. & Howard, F. G. 1979. Field observations on the emergence rhythm of the Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (L.) using different methods. Marine Biology 51, 157–165.Google Scholar
Chapman, C. J. & Howard, F. G. (in press). Environmental influences on Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) populations and their implications for fishery management. Zoological Society of London: Symposium on Aspects of Decapod Crustacean Biology 8–9 April 1987.Google Scholar
Edelsten, B. E. 1983. The Scottish sprat fisheries in 1979 and 1980. Annales biologiques 37, 187–188.Google Scholar
Edelsten, B. E. 1985. The Scottish sprat fisheries in 1981 and 1982. Annales biologiques 39, 146–147.Google Scholar
Jones, R. 1976. A preliminary assessment of the Firth of Forth stock of Nephrops. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, special meeting on population assessment of shellfish stocks, Paper 24. Copenhagen: ICES.Google Scholar
MacKenzie, K. 1985. The use of parasites as biological tags in population studies of herring (Clupea harengus L.) in the North Sea and to the north and west of Scotland. Journal du Corseil 42, 33–64.Google Scholar
McGovran, T. 1985. Newhaven-on-Forth, Port of Grace. Edinburgh: John Donald.Google Scholar
Mason, J., Shelton, R. G. J., Drinkwater, J. & Howard, F. G. 1983. Shellfish resources of the Inner Hebrides. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 83B, 599–610.Google Scholar
Millar, R. H. 1961. Scottish oyster investigations 1946–1958. Marine Research 3. Edinburgh: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Saville, A. 1963. A decline in yield of Scottish estuarine spring spawning herring fisheries. Rapport et procès-verbaux des réunions. Conseil permanent international pour l'exploration de la mer 154, 215–219.Google Scholar
Shelton, R. G. J., Jones, R., Mason, J., Kinnear, J. A. M. & Livingstone, K. 1978. The lobster fishery at Eyemouth (SE Scotland)—a brief review of its post war history and the prospects for increasing its long-term yield. Copenhagen: International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Shellfish Committee, CM1978/K:24.Google Scholar
Shelton, R. G. J., Angus, I., Kinnear, J. A. M. & Sinclair, J. 1981. Preliminary results of a lobster tagging experiment in St Andrew's Bay—Scotland. Copenhagen: International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Shellfish Committee, CM1981/K:20.Google Scholar
Strange, E. S. 1981. An introduction to commercial fishing gear and methods used in Scotland. Scottish Fisheries Information Pamphlets 1.Google Scholar
Thomas, H. J. 1951. Fluctuations in the lobster (Homarus gammarus) population of the Scottish coast. Rapport et procès-verbaux des réunions. Conseil permanent international pour l'exploralion de la mer 128, 84–91.Google Scholar
Thomas, H. J. 1955. Observations on the recaptures of tagged lobsters in Scotland. Marine Research 2. Edinburgh: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Thomas, H. J. 1958. Lobster and crab fisheries in Scotland. Marine Research 8. Edinburgh: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Thomas, H. J. 1965a. The distribution of the Norway lobster around Scotland and the stock composition in areas of different fishing mortality. Rapport et procès-verbaux des réunions. Conseil permanent international pour l'exploration de la mer 156, 176–182.Google Scholar
Thomas, H. J. 1965b. The lobster fishery of the southeast Scottish coast. Rapport et procès-verbaux des réunions. Conseil permanent international pour l'exploration de la mer 156, 15–20.Google Scholar
Thomas, H. J. & Saville, A. 1971. The fisheries of the Forth-Tay estuaries. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 71B, 171–188.Google Scholar
Wheeler, A. 1969. The fishes of the British Isles and north-west Europe. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.Google Scholar
Wilson, J. P. F. & Edelsten, B. E. 1980. The Scottish sprat fisheries in 1977 and 1978. Annales biologiques 35, 198–200.Google Scholar
Wilson, J. P. F. & Edelsten, B. E. 1981. The Scottish sprat fisheries in 1978 and 1979. Annales biologiques 36, 162–164.Google Scholar
Yonge, C. M. 1960. Ovsters. London: Collins, New Naturalist Series.Google Scholar