Monitoring the socio-economic impacts of Marine Protected Areas: report

Glossary

CAR

Controlled Activities Regulations

Citizen science

Citizen science (CS; also known as community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, volunteer monitoring, or online citizen science) is scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur (or nonprofessional) scientists.

Clam

Also known as a scallop

Creel

A "lobster pot" or type of trap used to fish for shellfish such as crab, lobster, and Nephrops

Demersal

On or near the seafloor

Demersal fishing

Pulling your net close to the seafloor.

Demersal fish

Fish that live on or near the sea floor (e.g. flounder or plaice)

Dredge

Dragging something over the seabed and stirring up the bottom to collect shellfish (typically scallops)

Electrofishing

Fishing for razor clams (aka 'spoots') by using a team of divers that drag an electrode across the seabed, stunning things in the sand. Divers pick up the razor clams as they pop up out of the seabed.

EU Habitats Directive

EU Habitats Directive aims to achieve favourable conservation status for a range of vulnerable habitats and species of European importance.

Fish 1 Form

Marine Scotland data collection system for under 10 m boats which records the landings, species, and location of fishing activity for each week

Fisheries Associations

Trade bodies representing fishers

Fishery

A fishery is an activity leading to harvesting of fish defined by the species caught, gear, sea area and species or group of species under a given management regime

Fishery Officer

Marine Scotland colleagues who check the landings and collect the data from fishing boats

Fishery Offices

Where fishery officers work (see fishery officer)

Fleet

Collection of boats arranged either by location (e.g. Scottish vs English fleet), size (e.g. the inshore fleet, the over 10 m fleet), or gear used (e.g. the creel fleet)

Fleet segment

A group of vessels with the same length, class and pre-dominant fishing gear during the year. Vessels may have different fishing activities during the reference period, but might be classified in only one fleet segment.

Gear

The type of equipment people use to fish (e.g. net or creel)

Haul

Pulling up gear to see what you have caught

Home port

The port a boat is registered at

ICES

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. They are in charge of stock assessments and quota distribution and Marine Scotland provide them with data that is used in assessments and landings statistics

ICES square

A standardised division of the sea for statistical analysis, just like a map on land is divided into OS squares

Inshore

Within 6 nm (nautical miles) of the coast

Inshore Fisheries Groups (IFGs)

Local management bodies for fisheries

Inshore fleet

Smaller boats (generally defined as under 10 m). They traditionally fish for shorter periods of time than the bigger boats.

Landing

When fishers come back to the harbour after fishing and take their catch ashore to sell/transport.

Landings

The amount of fish caught (can be measured by weight or value)

Langoustine

See Nephrops

Licences

Boats need a licence to fish certain species such as shellfish, cod etc.

Market

Where fish/the catch is sold (as well as being the wider economic market)

Mobile gear

Gear that moves/ is pulled along (e.g. net)

MPA

Marine Protected Area - There are three types of MPA in Scotland: 1) Demonstration and research to test novel approaches to marine management; 2) Historic to protect marine wrecks and artefacts; 3) Nature conservation to protect biodiversity. The term can also be used generically to describe any marine protected area.

MSFD

EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aims to achieve Good Environmental Status by ensuring that adverse effects from human activities are avoided.

NCMPA

Nature Conservation MPAs: Conserve marine flora or fauna, habitats or geological or geomorphological interests and protection of these features can be used to complement other protection measures including SACs, SPAs and SSSIs.

Nephrops

The Latin name for the group of species known as Norway lobster, prawn or langoustine. A type of shellfish that can be caught by net or creel.

Network of conservation sites

A term used in the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 to describe sites designated to protect marine biodiversity - MPAs, Ramsar, SACs, SPAs, SSSIs

Non-sector

Boats that do not belong to a PO (the majority of under 10 m boats)

NTZ

No Take Zone. An area of sea and seabed from which no marine life can be removed by any method

NUTS

Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes.

Pelagic

Open water column (not near the bottom).

Pelagic fish and fishing

Fishing for fish living in the open water column (not near the bottom).

Ping

Location data that is transmitted from a boat through VMS every two hours.

Ponds

Holding facilities for shellfish where people keep them before selling them on.

Port Number

The numbers on the side of the boat that have two letters identifying its home port, and numbers identifying its vessel (e.g. OB123= Oban based vessel)

Prawn

See Nephrops

Producer Organisation (PO)

Organisations around Scotland that help boats buy/lease/sell their quota among other things

Quota

The weight of fish that fishing boats are allowed to catch. Only some fish are "quota species", and not all boats have quota. An individual fishing quota (IQ or IFQ) is an allocation to a nation, individual (a person or a legal entity (e.g., a company)) of a right [privilege] to harvest a certain amount of fish in a certain period of time. It is also often expressed as an individual share
of an aggregate quota, or Total Allowable Catch (TAC). Quota changes from year to year, depending on stock assessments.

RSS Number

Registry of Shipping and Seaman Number. Like a licence plate for boats. Unique identifier

SAC

Special Areas of Conservation are protected areas for habitats and species listed in the EU Habitats Directive, such as reefs and bottlenose dolphin.

Scallop

Scallop is a common name that is primarily applied to any one of numerous species of saltwater clams or marine bivalve molluscs in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families within the superfamily Pectinoidea.

Seasearch divers

Seasearch is a project for volunteer scuba divers and snorkelers who have an interest in the marine environment. They gather information on seabed habitats and associated marine wildlife in Britain and Ireland through the participation of volunteer recreational divers.

Seafish

A public body that produces economic and employment data for fisheries

Seasquare

A way to spatially divide the sea for statistical analysis- see 'ICES square'

SEPA

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

SPA

Special Protection Areas are protected areas for wild birds listed in the EU Wild Birds Directive, or for regularly occurring migratory species.

SSSI

Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) - protect nationally important habitats, species and geological features found above the mean low water mark.

Static gear

Gear that does not move on the seabed. It gets put down and stays in one place. Examples include creels, pots, and traps.

Stock

The amount of a particular species. It is calculated annually by scientists and is used to work out how much quota everyone gets so we can fish more sustainably.

TAC

The total allowable catch (TAC) is a catch limit set for a particular fishery, generally for a year or a fishing season. TACs are
usually expressed in tonnes of live‐weight equivalent, but are sometimes set in terms of numbers of fish.

The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010

The Act of the Scottish Parliament which gives the Scottish Ministers the power to designate MPAs in Territorial Waters.

The Marine Acts

A collective term used to describe the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.

Trawl

A method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats (a type of mobile fishing).

VMS

Vessel Monitoring System. Legally required to be on all boats over 12 m it records location every two hours ('pings').

Whitefish

E.g. cod, haddock.

Whitefish fleet / Pelagic or Demersal Fleet

Vessels that target whitefish, such as cod or haddock, and so fish the pelagic or demersal portions of the water column. They are typically larger boats that are over 10 m. Often fish for multiple days at a time.