This article is from page 62 of the 2009-07-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 62 JPG
THE NEW phases of a scheme that has seen the lobster yield in Clare in- crease by as much as 40 per cent was launched in Carrigaholt on Friday.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mr. Tony Killeen, (FF) officially launched the 2009-2013 Lob- ster V-notching scheme.
Lobster ‘V-notching’ is one of the most important Tech- nical Conservation Measures (TCM) for the Irish lobster Kele .@
The main aim of the meas- ure is to protect female lob- sters, allowing them to spawn, which replenishes stocks.
The 2009 – 2013 V-Notch- ing Scheme follows on from the very successful 2002-2008 scheme which saw approximately 70,000 Lobsters being V-notched through a BIM-industry partnership, significantly increasing the spawning potential of the lobster population nationally.
Since 1995 over 140,000 lobsters
have been released. The initiative has proved to be of vital importance for the conservation and protection of the Irish lobster fishery.
In areas with strong V-notching pro- grammes such as the coast of Clare,
the 2002-2008 V-notching Scheme has had a hugely significant impact on the lobster stock, leading to an in- crease in catch rates of approximate- ly 40 per cent in the county. In the Banner County 14,000 lobsters were v-notched between 2002-2008.
The practice of “V-notching” was
introduced to Ireland by BIM in the early 1990’s from Maine in the USA, where it is used in the Ameri- can lobster fishery. It involves cutting a small notch in one of the flaps on the tail of a female lobster to create an easily recognised mark that remains for up to two moults. When a lobster is marked in this way, it is illegal to land, possess or sell it and it must be re- turned live to the sea. This ensures the lobster has an opportunity to breed at least once before the notch grows out, as female lob- sters generally breed and moult in alternate years. The v-notch is not perma- nent and after about four to six years it disappears completely and the lobster can be sold.