With the aim of facilitating the almost always scarce and complicated transfer of results from biological studies to the management of fishery resources, especially in the case of artisanal fisheries, the Toralla Marine Science Station, Ecimat, will launch the Razorbill Biology and its application to fisheries management program starting this Wednesday, March 16. Through the development of several workshops, the agents involved in the management of the exploitation plans for razorbills in Galicia (razorbill fishermen, technical assistance, area biologists, etc.) will learn the results of the research that Ecimat biologist Alba Hernández carried out for her doctoral thesis and in which she collaborated closely with the Bueu brotherhood.
“The high percentage of individuals (up to 40%) that break at the foot when being caught (a phenomenon known by razorfishers as ‘capamento’) is a serious problem in the razorfish fishery in Galicia, since these individuals are discarded because they cannot be marketed. To reduce this problem, which occurs more intensely during the winter months due to the development of the gonad inside the foot, exploitation is stopped for two months between January and March. This reproductive closure causes a shortage of supply on the market that leads to the import of other solenids, whose commercial value is a third lower than that of the local species”, explains the biologist. It should be remembered that in Spain the razorfish is one of the most important commercial species of bivalve and its exploitation is carried out mainly in Galicia, where there are a total of 36 guilds, 26 exploitation plans and around 620 razorfishers and razorfishers involved. As Alba Hernández explains, “a closure set so far in advance does not allow for adjustment to interannual variations in the breeding season or spatial variations between banks. Given this problem, a demand arises from the brotherhoods not only for information on the biology of the species, but also for simple techniques that allow for knowledge of its status in a continuous manner.”
Results and tools for monitoring the resource
In the workshops that will start next week, biologist Alba Hernández will provide attendees with the results obtained in the study of razorfish biology in the Pontevedra estuary and the tools designed to monitor the resource, paying special attention to a technique that allows knowing the reproductive status in a simple way. “During the workshops, participants will be provided with knowledge of the cycle and the procedure for using this tool, as well as the information material necessary to apply the technique. By using these tools, resource managers will be able to adapt rotations and closure periods to the razorfish reproductive status to spatial and temporal variability, ensuring greater reproductive success and reducing discards caused by capping,” explains the Ecimat biologist.
Given the interest expressed by the technical assistance, biologists from the area and coordinators from all over Galicia in this program, the workshops would be held in addition to the Ecimat, at the A Graña Station in Ferrol throughout 2016, with the aim of evaluating the evolution of the razorfish’s reproductive status throughout a complete annual cycle and facilitating the participation of the largest possible number of guilds.
