Acronym NA
Category
Aquaculture
Title Bestander og fangstkvalitet av leppefisk - Stocks and catch quality of wrasse Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National Coordinator Anne Berit Skiftesvik Coordinator email annebs@imr.no
Coordinator institution
IMR - Institute of Marine Research (Norway)
Institutions involved
NA
Start year 2011 End year 2013 Funding (€) € 1,007,761 Website https://www.fhf.no/prosjekter/prosjektbasen/900609/ Summary "There has been a large increase in fishing for wrasse for use as cleaning fish (lice pickers) in salmon farming. There is limited knowledge of the species' biology and population sizes. Today's fishing methods have great potential for improvement in terms of reducing bycatch and increasing the quality of the catch. The wrasse must be injury-free to do a job as a cleaning fish. The fish can also suffer damage when it is temporarily stored and transported, which greatly reduces the fish's useful value. Responsible and sustainable catching of wrasse is based on knowledge of the biology of the species and the population structure, targeted catch, that any intermediate storage takes into account the needs and behavior of the wrasse, as well as a gentle transport of the fish to the breeding facilities.
Aims of the project were:
1) to provide the necessary knowledge about responsible fishing of wrasse based on:
- knowledge of the species and stocks
- improved and gentle fishing technology
– intermediate storage that minimizes damage and stress to the fish
– gentle transport to the breeder
2. To start work on identifying any areas with a lot of disease and parasites in wrasse in the wild, with the aim of preventing the spread of these to ""new"" areas and to fish in the breeding cages.
Tag-recapture will be used to get an overview of the population size for the various species in the distribution area. Silicone tags will be used which are injected under the skin of the fish.
In connection with marking, all fish will be determined as to species and measured by length. Some fish will be taken out and killed to remove ear stones for age reading, and the stomach/intestinal contents of these fish will be examined. This will provide knowledge about the growth rate of the various species in the area and also about what they naturally eat and whether the various species eat the same thing. By compiling growth data from the entire distribution area, you can get an overview of how growth changes with the distribution area, and whether the various species follow the same pattern. Genetic samples will be taken from fish throughout the distribution area.
New knowledge will help to ensure that future fishing is carried out gently, efficiently and to the greatest extent possible without by-catch, based on the principle of sustainable harvesting. This is illustrated by looking at:
• which gear and modifications to gear give the least possible bycatch;
• which gear types give the best possible quality of wrasse of the various species.
Behavioral observations of fish in the catch phase provide valuable information both with regard to information about the catch efficiency of the gear ( entry probability and escape) and the behavior of the fish inside the net after it has been caught.
Survival of wrasse can be affected by a number of conditions such as season ( for example temperature, the fish's physiological state/maturation status), standing time and handling/storage on board the vessel. These conditions will be attempted to be elucidated and the significance of each quantified. In addition, the extent to which mortality is primarily a result of physical damage (e.g. shell scraping) or stress will be investigated. "
Keywords
Stock assessment;
Wrasse;
Fish;
Animal welfare;
Genetic;
Gear technology;
Capture-based aquaculture;
Fishing technology;
Sustainability;
Tagging;
Fish biology;
Marine Region
14
Skagerrak, Kattegat (27.IIIa)
13
Northern North Sea (27.IVa)
41
Norwegian Sea (27.IIa)
3
Marine Region Map
