Kent and Essex IFCA whelk pot hole size pilot study 2012

In response to a dramatic increase in the number of whelk pots being set in the district in 2011, KEIFCA introduced an emergency byelaw limiting the number of pots per vessel to 300. As part of the research into other potential management methods the industry suggested exploring the possibility of the drain hole in a pot being used as an escape hole to reduce the number of undersized whelks caught by the gear. Commercial Whelk pots with varying sizes of drain hole were shot in strings of ten and left to soak for 48 hours, then hauled and redeployed for a second period of 48 hours. The resulting whelks from each pot were measured along their widest and shortest axis', the results were then inputted into a spreadsheet and statistical analyses carried out on the data. The results showed a small positive correlation between hole size and the shell height of the whelks in that pot. This research is currently being expanded via a joint CEFAS/KEIFCA/Sussex IFCA project.