About
36
Publications
15,318
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Introduction
Since completing my Ph.D on Marine Intertidal Ecology, I have gained additional experience in marine surveying, geoacoustics, habitat/biotope mapping, and fisheries. My current work has strong links with offshore marine industries throughout the UK, advising on potential impacts in relation to nature conservation. You can also find me on Bluesky and LinkedIn.
Additional affiliations
October 2011 - June 2022
Position
- Researcher
Description
- I carry out marine surveys from upper intertidal down to sub-bottom creating habitat and bathymetry maps as well as research projects. Some projects include AIS and VMS vessel mapping, invasive species surveys and biomass surveys.
April 2008 - October 2011
Position
- Shellfish Scientist
Description
- Completed research projects included; a velvet crab escape gap study, bycatch analysis from scallop dredging, oyster habitat identification, variation in mussel spawning and recruitment, whelk size variation, as well as crab and scallop fishery surveys.
September 2006 - April 2008
Position
- Fisheries Technician
Description
- I worked as part of a dynamic team collecting fisheries data from aboard commercial fishing vessels, factories, markets and during research cruises. Data was managed, entered and incorporated into the local shellfish stock assessment.
Education
October 2002 - August 2006
September 2001 - September 2002
September 1995 - September 1999
Publications
Publications (36)
Horse mussel (Modiolus modiolus) and maerl beds are ‘priority’ habitats that can be threatened by human activity and as such require conservation under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP). During 2010 the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation (SSMO), the body responsible for the management of all shellfish stocks within six nautical miles...
Automatic identification system (AIS) is becoming increasingly popular with marine vessels providing accessible, up-to-date information on vessel activity in the marine environment. Although AIS has been utilised in several different fields to address specific questions, no published work has outlined the potential of AIS as a tool for a wide range...
During 2010 a set of 22 voluntary closed areas, distributed around Shetland, were proposed by local industry in order to help protect and conserve threatened habitats from potential physical disturbance from scallop dredging. Initially, closed areas were implemented on a precautionary basis over predicted beds of maerl and horse mussel (Modiolus mo...
Report of Fishing Industry Science Alliance (FISA) Project 04/12. The main aim of this work was to trial the use of Succorfish’s SC2 VMS tracking technology on vessels from the inshore scallop dredge fleet around Shetland and to evaluate its effectiveness as a tool for informing management decisions and protecting the environment.
Understanding th...
Within six nautical miles of the Shetland coast, scallop dredge fishing is managed by the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation (SSMO). Management measures, including a spatial management plan, prohibit dredge fishing in designated areas with confirmed or suspected ‘sensitive seabed habitats’ (e.g. maerl beds, horse mussel beds, sea grass). Th...
The aim of this work was to gather together all the available information on fishing activity (location, landings, and value) and important habitat information for key species listed to create a series of maps for the N&EC RIFG to integrate into their management plan.Five Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups (RIFGs) have been established around Scotla...
This work was commissioned and funded by NatureScot under the ‘Framework Agreement for Marine Survey, Analysis and Interpretation to Support Nature Conservation’. The aim was to carry out drop-down video (DDV) drifts at 60 specified sampling stations to the east of Shetland to provide more comprehensive information on skate egg occurrence south of...
This project, “Engaging the fishing industry in marine environmental survey and monitoring”, has been funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), led by Marine Scotland and supported by Marine Scotland Science and NatureScot. The project worked with the fishing industry to undertake survey and monitoring work1. During 2019, seabed su...
NAFC Marine Centre UHI was tasked to carry out a series of hydro-acoustic and Drop Down Video (DDV) surveys of suspected Priority Marine Features (PMFs) based on the results of the most recent SNH survey and some historic PMF records. The aim of the survey was to map horse mussel (Modiolus modiolus) and maerl beds, to determine their extent, abunda...
NAFC Marine Centre UHI was tasked by the SSMO to carry out a hydro-acoustic and Drop Down Video (DDV) survey covering the more recent SSMO Voluntary Closed Area in northern Mousa Sound. The aim of the survey was to map the extent of the Priority Marine Features (PMFs), to determine their extent, abundance, and define whether the findings constitute...
Inshore fisheries are known users of both the Papa Stour SAC and the surrounding areas, including St Magnus Bay (NAFC Marine Centre, 2014). Creel fishing for crabs and lobsters occurs within the SAC limits while scallop dredging occurs predominantly outside on the flatter, softer sediment. Some scallop fishers, who dredge in St Magnus Bay, have rep...
Razor clams of the genus Ensis are the subject of valuable fisheries. Concerns about the sustainability of razor clam harvesting in Welsh waters have recently resulted in the closure of an intertidal area and the need to determine effective measures to assess stocks. The aim of this report was to provide a review of the biology of razor clams in We...
The seaweed, Ascophyllum nodosum ecad mackaii (Turner) S.M. Baker & M.H. Bohling, also known as “wig wrack” is the key component of the biotope LR.LLR.FVS.Ascmac, “Ascophyllum nodosum ecad mackaii beds on extremely sheltered mid eulittoral mixed substrata”, and is a UKBAP habitat and Priority Marine Feature. The abundance of the seaweed at this sit...
There is increasing legislative and policy emphasis on the importance of effective management of the marine environment as a shared resource, with aspirations to maximise environmental, economic, and social benefits, also termed the ecosystem approach to management. As extensive and long-term users of the marine environment, fisheries and the integ...
The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) is an invasive non-native species to Europe, introduced as an aquaculture alternative in 1890. In recent years, C. gigas have expanded their range past 60ºN on the east side of the North Sea along the Norwegian coast, consistent with range-expansion predictions. However, the northwest North Sea...
High intensity, localised, and targeted surveys using multibeam and drop down video have been carried out around Shetland aiming to map nationally and internationally important habitats of maerl and horse mussel (Modiolus modiolus) beds. These surveys have resulted in targeted closures to mobile dredging gear in order to conserve these habitats. Ho...
The introduction of non-native species (NNS) is becoming an increasing problem across the globe. The need to identify and manage the pathways of their introduction has been identified as a priority for biosecurity management. There is a clear role for marine spatial planning to provide a multi-sector framework to assist in this management. A risk-b...
Populations of the crawfish, Palinurus elephas, in Welsh waters have declined significantly since the 1960s and 1970s when changes in fishing practice took place. This large benthic crustacean is a key species in reef features within existing marine Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and also within the wider context of the Welsh marine ecosystem...
The native European oyster, Ostrea edulis, is a sessile, filter-feeding, bivalve mollusc, distributed widely from Norway in the north to Morocco in the south. Wild populations were once abundant around the Scottish coast and, during the 1800s, the main Scottish fishing stocks were located in the Firth of Forth, Loch Ryan, Orkney, Shetland, and West...
The discovery that small changes in hydrostatic pressure were coded by angular acceleration receptors in the crab with a mechanism involving nanometer level displacements of mechanoreceptors by differential compression of cuticular and cellular tissues [1], has pointed to a set of sensory signals fundamentally involved in navigation in a much broad...
The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis (L., 1758), is common throughout the British Isles and is an important industry in Shetland valued at over £2 million annually which contributes to 54% of the annual rope grown mussels in Scotland. The aim of the study was to address the feasibility of monitoring biological and environmental conditions in order to as...
Recent work has shown that there is variability in the pattern of moulting in velvet crabs around Shetland. As a result of this, alternate closed seasons on the east and west coast have been implemented to protect stocks. Recent studies and reports from fishermen have shown that the patterns of moulting are variable between years, as well as betwee...
The common whelk, Buccinum undatum, was sampled from three areas; east and west Shetland, and the south coast of England. The largest whelk measured 122mm shell length (SL) and was recorded from west Shetland (mean 76mm) with the smallest animal recorded from south England, measuring 31mm (mean 54mm). Both east and south areas showed a peak in leng...
The discovery that small changes in hydrostatic pressure were coded by angular acceleration receptors in the crab with a mechanism involving nanometer level displacements of mechanoreceptors by differential compression of cuticular and cellular tissues (Fraser and Macdonald, 1994), has pointed to a set of sensory signals fundamentally involved in n...
Between 1980 and 2001, a total of 661 African angel sharks Squatina africana was caught in the protective nets off KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The mean annual catch was 30 sharks (range = 11-69, SD = 12.4), with no trend in catch rate over the study period. Individuals were caught throughout the year and through much of the netted region, with a h...
Following the discovery of a hydrostatic pressure sensor with no associated gas phase in the crab, and the knowledge that several systems of cells in culture show long term alterations to small changes in hydrostatic pressure, we show here that vestibular type II hair cells in a well known model system (the isolated elasmobranch labyrinth), are sen...
Recent findings that dogfish vestibular hair cells respond to hydrostatic pressure emphasized the parallels between crab and elasmobranch systems. Thus, gravity and hydrostatic pressure seem to act through the same mechanism involving the normal mechano-sensitive components of these angular acceleration receptors. This raises the possibility that i...
Many marine invertebrates and fish respond to hydrostatic pressure in order to regulate their depth and synchronize their behaviour to tidal cycles. Here we investigate the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the vestibular hair cells located in the labyrinth of the dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula, and find that it modulates their spontaneous activity...
Questions
Question (1)
We came across some king scallop shells (Pecten maximus) during some of our sampling in Shetland, UK, which had some interesting black 'burrows' on the inside of the shell. Some had a corresponding globule-like projection on the outside of the shell (see pictures) as well. I'm guessing they were possibly made by a boring tubeworm but is there a way of identifying what made them?
Many thanks,
Richard
