A study of some invertebrate resources within Bertrabouy Bay, Connemara

Abstract

This study of invertebrates in Bertrabouy bay was a by-product from an investigation of the distribution of escallops in Connemara examined by SCUBA diving and dredging. The bay is about 5 miles by 2 miles and has many small inlets and islands; it deepens to 18 fathoms near its entrance. Most of the escallops and lobsters are fished from the centre of the bay to its entrance. Small populations of escallops are fished with hand nets at the head of the bay where oysters were once cultivated on banks that are often covered with eelgrass. Cluaisíns are picked from the banks and winkles are found intertidally throughout the bay. In the course of the study an unexploited lobster population was discovered at the centre of the bay. Crawfish are taken at the bay entrance where razorfish and otter clams are also found. The oyster banks could be examined for future development and the use of a portable shellfish harvester to collect razorfish might be investigated.