In 2022, BlueWise Marine provided administrative, governance, and marketing support to a European lobster V-notching scheme in Ireland. This conservation project was designed as a collaboration between BlueWise Marine, Oriel Windfarm Limited (OWL), and SECAD Partnership to support and compensate the V-notching efforts of members of the Dunany Lobster and Crab Fishermen Association, based in Co. Louth, Ireland.
V-Notching is a National programme that aims to protect lobster populations in Ireland by allowing female lobsters to breed before being caught, therefore improving the sustainability of Ireland’s lobster stocks. The fund was designed to complement the government grant aid for the scheme. Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency (BIM) compensates up to 70% of the value of a lobster.
BlueWise Marine managed the funding provided by OWL through SECAD, and during this project, over a four-month period, approximately 3000kg of lobsters were V-notched and returned to the sea. This scheme benefits the local community and the ecology of the fishery by encouraging fishermen to partake in the conservation of lobster stocks.
V-notching involves removing a V-shaped piece of exoskeleton from a tail of a female lobster of reproductive age. “V-notched” lobsters are then protected from being landed. Over time, V-notching increases the reproductive potential of the lobster fishery, helping to increase local lobster population.
