The Earl of Haddingtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What research has been carried out into the sand eel population along the North Sea coastal strip; and
What have been the yearly density spreads for the last 10 years of the sand eel population along the North Sea coastal strip; and
Mean number of fish per 30 minute tow Age Year 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1984 345,774 47,590 34,613 9,921 3,999 1,369 856 258 1985 121,905 74,509 38,843 23,455 10,872 1,959 962 119 1986 681,869 49,816 11,399 15,376 7,049 2,893 1,210 191 1987 — — — — — — — — 1988 73,371 898 7,189 4,843 4,612 3,031 1,619 20 1989 813,752 9,059 977 3,820 3,893 2,017 462 86 1990 90,148 30,118 3,771 1,346 1,736 1,142 444 329 1991 1,009,024 10,001 1,925 1,694 750 53 21 5 1992 199,301 465,958 1,215 347 168 43 10 12 1993 635,331 18,180 73,176 2,176 361 150 72 23 1994 98,653 135,158 14,272 41,299 3,369 296 12 17 1995 — — — — — — — — 1996 589,368 23,056 12,513 1,836 1,185 1,387 524 72 1997 2,953,350 88,582 6,519 8,938 1,149 1,353 1,159 357 Information on sand eel density in the rest of the North Sea is indicated by commercial catch data and has not been routinely collated and published. However, the ELIFONTS project is expected to lead to improved knowledge of the situation, particularly in the vicinity of the Firth of Forth and Moray Firth.
Possible links between seabird numbers and sand eel fisheries were reviewed in 1994 by an International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) study group on sea bird/fish interactions. It was concluded at that time that there was no evidence of a decline in seabird populations or breeding success being caused by an increase in sand eel landings in the main area for sand eel consumption by seabirds off the northern UK coast. The ELIFONTS project is expected to lead to an improved understanding of the implications of changes in sand eel availability to seabirds and other predators.
The Earl of Haddingtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What evidence was taken into account in determining the limit on proposed catch quotas for
198WAWhat effects have been noted on the drop in population and spread of seabirds along the North Sea coastal strip which are sand eel dependent.
§ Lord DonoughueResearch on sand eels in which UK institutions are involved includes work on identifying whether there are discrete sand eel populations in the North Sea; estimating the uncertainty in the assessment of sand eel population; the dynamics of sand eel settlement and population and the investigation of alternative management measures for sand eels. The European Commission is also funding an extensive research project to investigate the effects of sand eel availability on foraging behaviour, efficiency, diet and reproduction of bird and fish predators. This project, known as ELIFONTS, is being led by the United Kingdom's Sea Mammal Research Unit. All these studies are expected to lead to an improved understanding of the impact of sand eel fisheries.
Data from recruitment surveys carried out by the Scottish Office Fisheries Research Service Agency for the Shetland area show sand eel density as follows:
the sand eel population along the North Sea coastal strip.
§ Lord DonoughueThe proposal of the European Commission to introduce a total allowable catch (TAC) for sand eels in the North Sea took account of advice provided by the Advisory Committee on Fisheries Management (ACFM) of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. ACFM concluded that the sand eel stock appears to be within safe biological limits and that the stock can sustain current fishing mortality. However, it advised that fishing mortality should not be allowed to increase because the consequences of removing a large fraction of the food biomass for predator species are unknown.
The United Kingdom welcomed the introduction of a TAC for North Sea sand eels at the Fisheries Council on 18-19 December 1997. However, the United Kingdom also pressed for the TAC to be set at a lower level and called for continuing analysis of the environmental effect of large scale industrial fishing.