Irish Sea - Exploitation

The Irish Sea supports valuable pelagic, demersal, and inshore fisheries. Many stocks are exploited together in different combinations and often include important bycatch. Belgian beam trawlers commenced fishing in the Irish Sea in the 1960s and were subsequently joined by UK and Irish vessels. The beam trawl fleet principally targets sole but has important by-catch of plaice, rays, brill, turbot and anglerfish. Until the early 1990s the majority of whitefish vessels in the Irish Sea were otter trawlers targetting cod, haddock, whiting and plaice with by-catch of anglerfish, hake and sole. Fishing effort in this fleet declined substantially between 1989 and 1994 and has since remained relatively low. Nephrops, taken by twin-rig otter trawls in combination with cod, haddock, whiting, and plaice, is currently one of the most valuable fisheries in the Irish Sea and occurs predominantly on the extensive mud ground in the Northwest Irish Sea (Figure 1d). Important bycatch include, hake, sole, skates, and rays. Pelagic trawlers in the Irish Sea target herring. Inshore beam trawlers fish for shrimp, occasionally switch to flatfish when shrimp become temporarily unavailable. Gill nets and tangle nets are also employed by inshore boats to catch cod, bass, grey mullet, sole and plaice. There are also important inshore fisheries for bass, cod, grey mullet, sole, plaice, brown cabs, and lobster. provide a detailed description of fisheries in the area.
Due to the changing abundance and species composition of the stocks, developments in fishing technology and the constraints imposed by management measures, Irish Sea demersal fisheries have altered markedly over time. Major events since the 1990s include the decline in cod and whiting stocks, the growth of the haddock stock and the introduction of emergency measures to protect cod from 2000 onwards.