Isles of Scilly Fish and Fisheries - Cornwall Wildlife Trust

More documents

Recommendations

Info

young fish.” It is a similar tale today; and it seems inevitable that the flocks of Shags (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) gathering over the major flatfish nursery grounds of St Martin’s Flats will have an impact on stocks. However, it is feasible that the natural mortality of the “O” group fish is so high that the effect is insignificant. The colony of P. aristotelis on the Western Rocks is one of the largest in the south west and of considerable conservation importance (Tasker, 1996). 9.16) Seahorses, Hippocampus guttulatus and Hippocampus hippocampus (BAP species) Seahorses are found in a variety of habitats, but are best known for living in seagrass meadows. However, despite the extensive eel grass beds, there are few records of seahorses in and around the Isles of Scilly. Fishermen say they are very unusual but are occasionally found by shrimp collectors, who would be fishing over the sandflats. ERCCIS only holds two records of these fish – a Short-snouted Seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus) found in 1982, ‘probably Tresco’; and a Spiny or Maned Seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus) from Toll Island, St Mary’s in October 2003. The habitat around Toll Island is boulders with a hydroid turf and algae that can suit Hippocampus sp. The “probably Tresco” fish could have come from the sandflats or more likely the Zostera beds. There is one specimen of Hippocampus hippocampus in the Isles of Scilly Museum, but without date or location, this may be the Tresco fish. It is understood that the British Seahorse Survey, run by the Seahorse Trust, does hold some records from the Isles of Scilly, all of which are of H. hippocampus. 9.17) Sandeels, Ammodytidae It is probable that several species of sandeel are found in the area and the Isles of Scilly Museum (1971) recorded both the Greater Sandeel Hyperoplus lanceolatus and the Lesser Sandeel Ammodytes tobianus. The Porcupine Marine Natural History Society intertidal study found a number of A. tobianus in the sand on St Martin’s Flats. One sandeel found dead on St Martin’s Flats was identified as Raitt’s Sandeel Ammodytes marinus, a BAP species. Generally this species is considered to occur in deeper water than A. tobianus. However, since it was found dead it is impossible to draw any conclusions from this. A variety of frozen sandeels are imported to Scilly for sale as anglers’ bait, and that is a possible origin of this specimen. On the other hand, A. marinus are frequently caught along with other species, in depths of 5 to 12 metres 36
off the Cornish coast (M. Gilbert, pers. comm., 2010), and so naturally occurring A. marinus is a possibility in the coastal waters of Scilly. 9.18) Gobies, Gobiidae Eight species of goby have been recorded from the Isles of Scilly (Isles of Scilly Museum, 1971; Hussain and Knight-Jones, 1995; Parslow, 2000; and ERCCIS, 2010), out of nineteen or twenty one species found in the British Isles and surrounding waters. In part this apparent paucity of species is probably an artefact of the lack of collecting and recording of these small fish. Many of the records are of Gobius sp. or Pomatoschistus sp., and have not been determined to species level. T. ephippiatus was first discovered in British seas in the 1950s with the advent of scientific diving and is now known to be relatively common in suitable habitats. The other large gobies recorded are G. paganellus, G. cobitis and the Black Goby G. niger. The only record found of G. niger in the islands is in the museum list (Isles of Scilly Museum, 1971), where it is noted along with G. paganellus as “Both found in rock pools.” This is strange because while G. niger might be found on the lower shore, it is more commonly a sublittoral species (living at depths of 2 to 70 m) on muddy and sandy bottoms, especially in estuaries and lagoons (Maitland and Herdson, 2009). This species may occur in the area, as they are frequently associated with Zostera beds, but none have been reported from that habitat in Scilly. However, the museum list does not mention G. cobitis, which is a similar size and colouration to G. niger and is almost exclusively found in upper shore rock pools. G. cobitis was only fully accepted as a British species in 1960 (Wheeler, 1960) and did not appear in most fish identification guides until the 1970s. Hence it is feasible that the species referred to is not G. niger but G. cobitis. G. cobitis is a subtidal species in the Mediterranean but in the United Kingdom is confined to large upper shore rockpools in south west Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (Fig. 2). The second largest European goby, it is rare and vulnerable to disturbance with a significant population in Scilly (Potts and Swaby, 1995). G. cobitis is listed on Schedule V of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which protects them from intentional killing, injuring or taking (Lewis et al. 2008). This species has been regularly recorded in Scilly (Potts and Swaby, 1992; Wheeler, 1993; Hussain and Knight-Jones, 1995; Parslow, 2000). However, as mentioned previously, during the Porcupine Marine Natural History Society field meeting several large gobies (11-14 cm 37
Page 1 and 2: Isles of Scilly Marine Biodiversity
Page 3 and 4: 5.3.4) Mullet nets 15 5.4) Potting
Page 5 and 6: APPENDICES 46 A) Fish and shellfish
Page 7 and 8: From this a directory of contacts w
Page 9 and 10: 2.5) Study of shore fish The intert
Page 11 and 12: 4) Areas and habitats These are gen
Page 13 and 14: and ooze. 4.3.1) North and north we
Page 15 and 16: according to the animals targeted.
Page 17 and 18: 5.4.3) Soft-eye pots. These are sim
Page 19 and 20: (Cetorhinus maximus) frequently see
Page 21 and 22: The Giant Goby (Gobius cobitis) has
Page 23 and 24: 8.5) Sand 8.5.1) Intertidal sandfla
Page 25 and 26: 8.8) Offshore grounds The grounds t
Page 27 and 28: Fig.1 Juvenile Lumpsucker Cyclopter
Page 29 and 30: in and around the Isles of Scilly s
Page 31 and 32: 9.6) Rays 9.6.1) Common Skate Diptu
Page 33 and 34: 9.11) Atlantic Salmon and Sea trout
Page 35: M. aeglefinus is a northern fish an
Page 39 and 40: Figure 3. Gobius sp. St Agnes, Sept
Page 41 and 42: 10) Spawning and Nursery areas 10.1
Page 43 and 44: 11.2) Crustacean fisheries 11.2.1)
Page 45 and 46: angling would excluded. If carefull
Page 47 and 48: Belone belone Garfish Callionymus l
Page 49 and 50: B) Bibliography on the Fish and Fis
Page 51 and 52: Lewis, G., Parslow, R., Gall, A. an
Page 53 and 54: UK BAP (2009) 2007 UK BAP priority
Page 55 and 56: St Agnes Regn. No. Vessel Skipper C
Page 57 and 58: D) Recording Forms D.1) Fish and Sh

Isles of Scilly Fish and Fisheries - Cornwall Wildlife Trust

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?