Fishing in the Berwickshire Marine Reserve
The coastal towns of Eyemouth and St Abbs owe their history to the commercial fishing industry. The Marine Reserve sits within a Static Gear Reserve, which means that fishers cannot use mobile towed gear, trawls, dredgers and nets to catch their stock. The image below describes where the BMR sits within the Static Gear Reserve.
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Instead, Brown Crab, Lobsters and Velvet Swimming Crabs are caught using pots (or creels), and this method does minimal damage to other marine life. There are strict rules about the size of the shellfish they are allowed to land, and those which are too small must be returned to the sea.
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We work closely with the local fishers, and we are currently engaged in a project which studies the population dynamics of the Brown Crab and Lobsters. You can read all about this here.
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The Marine Reserve is also a great place to come for a spot of angling - Cod, Pollock and Makerel can all be caught here, and a few boats from Eyemouth and St Abbs run offshore angling trips. As with all other users, we ask fishers to be responsible with their actions and follow our Code of Conduct, as well as taking any litter home with you.
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