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Exploited fish and shellfish species in the Moray Firth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

P. J. Hopkins
P. J. Hopkins
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, Marine Laboratory, Victoria Road, Aberdeen AB9 8DB, Scotland
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Synopsis

The Moray Firth has been intensively fished for many years and has been of great historic importance to the development of Scottish fisheries. The stocks of exploited species in the firth and their relations to other stocks in Scottish waters are described.

Exploited demersal species include haddock, cod, whiting, plaice and lemon sole. The firth is an important nursery area for plaice, and is the most important plaice spawning ground in the North Sea.

The Moray Firth is also an important nursery area for herring. Evidence suggests that these fish recruit to adult stocks in the Minch. In the early 1960s a pair trawl fishery for sprats started and the firth became the most important sprat fishing area in Scotland. However, recruitment of recent year classes has been too poor to sustain the fishery, which has now been closed in order to protect the juvenile heiring which were landed as by-catch.

The distributions of shellfish species are closely related to the bottom sediments. Landings have become increasingly important as the demersal and pelagic fisheries have declined or moved further offshore. The fishery on the Norway lobster is now of particular importance and the catch per unit effort data do not suggest any decline in stock size. Other exploited species include squid, scallops, crabs and lobster.

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