North Sea Prawns Stay Burrowed Deep

25th May 2013

A scientific article published by Marine Scotland published this week outlines the environmental factors contributing to the issue on the key Fladens fishery which includes weather patterns causing colder than usual water temperature.

For the first 4 months of 2013 landing figures show a decrease of 52 per cent on the same period last year - an 11-year-low in the number of tonnes of prawns caught. This follows on from a poor year in 2012. The situation has also replicated on the West Coast this year, but to a lesser extent so far.

Following concerns over a lack of prawns in the North Sea being raised with the Scottish Government, the Cabinet Secretary urgently requested a brief summary of the problem from Marine Scotland. The summary article has been published online today.

Scotland’s Fishing Minister Richard Lochhead said:“North Sea prawns were worth £34.6 million to Scotland’s fishermen last year, so the impact of this situation on the 99 boats fishing for prawns in the Fladens is huge.

“Environmental phenomena which disrupt fishing activities occur from time to time and so it is hoped this will be a short-term problem, but it is an anxious wait for our fishermen to see if the prawns ‘come on’ and the situation improves for them in the near future.”

Marine Scotland Scientist Nick Bailey, who is author of the article said:“The numbers of Nephrops, commonly known as 'prawns', has decreased recently in the offshore Fladen Ground resulting in generally lower catch rates and landings compared to the period 2005-2008.

“In common with many other species, populations of Nephrops fluctuate as a result of factors affecting the production and survival of young Nephrops. It is not clear precisely why the current decline has occurred.

“In addition to this decline, recent unusual environmental conditions appear to be limiting the emergence of the Nephrops from the burrows in which they live, this in turn is limiting the opportunities for a fishery. The reasons for this are unclear but this may be because of lower than usual water temperatures or prolonged spells of severe weather in the winter which have affected the hydrodynamics of the region.”

1. Scotland supports the largest Nephrops (Prawns) fishery in the world, is Scotland’s second most valuable species (worth £82 million last year). This includes the North Sea and West Coast fisheries.

2. Landings

• The 2013 value of North Sea Nephrops landed by Scottish prawn vessels so far this year is 62% lower than in the same period in 2012.

• The tonnage landed is 52% less than the same period last year: more than twice as much Nephrops was landed by this time last year by Scottish prawn vessels operating in the North Sea.

• The North Sea prawn vessel landings and value of Nephrops for the first trimester (Jan-Apr) is lower in 2013 that any of the previous 11 years

• North Sea Nephrops landings by Scottish vessels, and value for the first four months of the last ten years is shown in the table below for comparison:

Year* North Sea prawn vessels

Tonnes Value

2002 2,649 £6,461,343

2003 2,645 £5,809,214

2004 3,429 £7,250,592

2005 3,834 £9,172,153

2006 4,083 £10,543,556

2007 4,292 £13,320,973

2008 3,942 £11,257,965

2009 4,303 £9,136,336

2010 4,842 £10,457,024

2011 3,823 £12,053,904

2012 2,265 £9,501,601

2013 1,092 £3,641,271

Total 41,199 £108,605,931

* data for the first four months in each year