Tagged lobsters are just plain Scilly!

In September 2014, I spent a fantastic sunny week on the Isles of Scilly, the distinctly magical archipelago 28 miles west of the Land’s End of mainland Britain. I was there to deliver 1350 hatchery-reared juvenile lobsters, which were released by divers around St Agnes, but took a week off to volunteer for the lobster and crawfish tagging project being run by the Isles of Scilly Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority (Scilly IFCA – www.scillyifca.gov.uk ). Except for the day I skipped breakfast and felt a bit seasick, I had a great time going to sea with commercial fishermen, collecting data on their catch and tagging adult lobsters and crawfish for release. While my contribution was tiny overall, this project has been ongoing for the past 3 years, and thanks to the efforts of IFCA staff, Scillonian fishers and willing volunteers, Scilly IFCA has generated vital data to monitor the growth, movement and abundance of their local lobster populations. They have now released a report outlining their findings (available at https://secure.toolkitfiles.co.uk/clients/19937/sitedata/pdfs/IOSIFCA-Tagging-Report.pdf ). Static gear fisheries for lobsters (caught in baited pots) and crawfish (caught in stationary nets) are hugely important to the prosperity of the islanders, and the report shows that lobsters appear to be sustainably fished. The recapture of hundreds of tagged lobsters showed that the majority of animals are resident within a particular area, with 62% recaptured within 500m of where they were released, although the odd nomad undertook a considerable journey, with 3 individuals caught in mainland Cornwall, including one female who had come 100 miles to Padstow! Perhaps she was hatchery-reared, and missed the good life in our tanks…?! Around half of the lobster catch was undersized and returned, and there was an even number of males and females, indications that lobster recruitment appears healthy. The picture was not so positive for crawfish, the increasingly valuable but rare European spiny lobster, whose stock was found to be deficient in females and undersized individuals. Of 283 individuals that were tagged and released (including one by me, pictured), only 1 crawfish was recaptured (having moved 6 miles and moulted once a year later). This suggests that survival following capture is low, or that the species is largely migratory, factors which present a significant challenge to the sustainable management of their fisheries. As a result, Scilly IFCA are now arguing for tougher regulations for crawfish, with proposals to ban to landing egg-bearing females and a raised minimum size. Such measures have been perceived a success for clawed lobsters, so it seems an obvious route to take for crawfish. Fortunately, the data gathered by this report provides a baseline by which changes to the status of lobster and crawfish stocks can be assessed by future monitoring. One thing is for sure; I’ll be first on the ferry when I next get the chance to visit the beautiful Scillies and their resident lobsters!