A Review of the Dunmore East Herring Fishery (1962-1968)

Abstract

The winter herring fishery off the south coast of Ireland, based on what is commonly called the Dunmore stock, has been studied in detail by earlier workers and particularly by Bracken and Burd (1965). In their paper, they reviewed the fishery up to 1963 and arrived at conclusions regarding the economic yield of the fishery. They stated that, “ with the major spawning grounds (where the intense fishery takes place) situated within Irish exclusive fishery limits, there is considerable scope for the control of effort in such a way that, for the first time, a herring stock might be rationally exploited”. Since 1963, certain changes have taken place in respect of the stocks themselves and the fishing to which they are subjected. The purpose of this paper is to bring these changes to light and to compare the state of the fishery during the seasons 1962/63 to 1967/68 with that during the period of Braken’s and Burd’s observations.