On Monday, March 24, at 15:00, Lauren Parkhouse will present her master's thesis in Coastal and Marine Management, titled: Comparison Study of the use of Video Surveying Techniques in Estimating King Scallop (Pecten maximus) populations in the Inshore Waters of Devon, United Kingdom. Her thesis advisor is Dr Sarah Clarke, Principal Environment Officer at the Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority, and the external reader is Jónas Páll Jónasson, senior scientist at MRI and an instructor at the program.

The presentation will be in room 1-2 at the UW and everyone is welcome.

Abstract

Pecten maximus (king scallops) have become an important national resource to the United Kingdom, and the fishery is now the third most valuable in Britain, worth an estimated £49.8million in 2010. Stock assessments are an important aspect of successful fisheries management however little is currently known about the state of the UK stocks. The traditional method of using dredges for king scallop stock assessments has been reported to have low efficiency and can be destructive. With closed areas and scallop enhancement having an increased potential as the way forward in the management of the fishery in certain areas, there is a need for non-destructive methods of surveying with an increased efficiency. This thesis aimed to investigate the suitability of different methods for carrying out king scallop stock assessments in the inshore waters of Devon, United Kingdom. A pyramid frame camera system based on Dr Stokesbury’s SMAST sampling pyramid was compared with a towed flying camera system and divers. The results indicated that the best method for king scallop stock assessments is the towed flying camera system. This method can cover a large area in a short time period at different depths, and the king scallops are more visible with the oblique angle of the camera.  Although the pyramid frame was not suitable for king scallop stock assessments, it is not a totally redundant methodology and can be used for other marine habitat assessments to advise in the management of Marine Protected Areas.