BBCFishermen in Devon and Dorset are being trained in a new science to help better understand fish stocks.
The project in Lyme Bay is teaching dozens of fishermen to dissect a specific bone in fish which can be used to detect its age and rate of growth.
The aim is to provide as much data as possible to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to secure fishing rights after a ban on pollack fishing a year ago which fishermen said would be damaging for the industry.
Concerns had been raised that a similar situation could happen with other fish species without sufficient data around fish stocks.
‘Rings in a tree’
About 50 fishermen have taken part in the training programme, which involves analysing the otolith bone located in the head of a fish.
Fisherman Stephen Andrews said the bone contained a series of rings,…
