New fishing system hopes to make Dutch mussel industry more sustainable скачать в хорошем качестве

New fishing system hopes to make Dutch mussel industry more sustainable

(16 Sep 2014) New technology promises to revolutionise the Dutch mussel fishing industry. It could lead to greater sustainability and better income security for fishermen. On the windswept Wadden sea in the northern Netherlands, Dutch fisherman are on another mission to catch mussel seeds. But this is no ordinary catch, it's a new technique designed to protect the sea bed from the traditional trawling nets. Rather than attach themselves to objects on the bottom of the ocean, these infant mussels - or mussel seed - are clinging on to floating nets. The nets float just above the sea bed. Thet were set up by fishermen in the spring when microscopic mussel larvae drift freely. They're now being hauled in, without damaging the sea bed or disrupting other sea life and its ecosystems. The seed will soon be transported to growing banks where they'll be left for around three years until they grow up to five centimetres (1.9 inches) long. "We bring a half-finished product to the market, which has to be returned to the bottom of the sea by the mussel growers - and very quickly, as it's living material. They (the growers) will then ensure that it results, after one, or two, or three years, in a consumption-ready mussel of about five, six, seven centimetres," says Kees Groot who invented the Mussel Seed Capture Installation system, Scientists say as well as helping the environment, the new fishing system has the potential to increase yields. Pauline Kamermans is a researcher at IMARES (Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies), at Wageningen University. She says the new technology offers a good alternative to traditional methods: "As well as the technical optimisation, the biological optimisation is very important. Because you have to have your netting in the water at the right time - when the larvae are planning to settle. And again, you need to harvest them at the right time, before they drop off the ropes or netting." At the moment around 70 percent of mussel seeds are collected by trawling methods, according to the Dutch Trade Ministry. Concerned about the significant damage of trawling, the government - along with natural conversation organisations and the Mussel Producers Organisation - has introduced stricter regulations. The resulting Natural Protection Act envisages a ban on sea bed trawling in 2020. It's taken 10 years to develop the Mussel Seed Capture Installation, which currently harvests around 700-thousand kilograms of mussel seeds each year. Kees Groot hopes to expand that to over 1 million kilograms by 2015. "Another benefit of this method is the fact that you have a continuous supply of mussel seed, because there's never a year where you are unable to harvest mussel seed, whereas natural seed falls to the bottom (of the sea) and fluctuates - there are years when there is nothing to fish, because there's no supply, and there are years where there is an abundance of mussel seed - and you'd need a lot of space to sow them. This principle (concept) actually ensures that you are never without mussel seed, never without the raw material. And that's important for the industry, because if you can guarantee the continuity of the supply, then the mussel sector can guarantee its continuity," Groot says. Dutch mussel fishing is a 150-year-old industry. And at Prins & Dingemanse, a mussel production company with 130 years of experience, there is great pride in the trade. About 80 percent of Dutch mussels find their way into restaurants and markets in France and Belgium. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...