Herrring Investigations on the North-West and West coasts 1976

Abstract

The herring fisheries off Donegal, Mayo and Galway in 1976 are reviewed. A serious decline in catches, particularly in the Donegal fishery, took place but this was compensated for by increased prices. The decline in catches is caused mainly by a decrease in stock size, because the recruitment of young herring in recent years has not compensated for the amounts removed by fishing. To minimise the dangers of poor recruitment it would be unwise to allow any fishing to develop on young immature herring in the area. The total international catch off Galway increased considerably in 1976, largely due to increased Dutch effort. International catch restrictions on the total catch are likely to be even more severe in future years.