Technical Services – Fisheries Conservation

Our Fisheries Conservation Section aims to:

• Provide technical support to the Irish fishing sector 
• Help the sector make best use of available resources
• Develop technical solutions to meet environmental and regulatory challenges 
• Develop technical solutions to improve carbon efficiency 
• Promote and communicate work that builds societal support for the Irish fisheries sector and BIM

The landing obligation has been our main focus since 2014. Introduced under the 2013 reform of the the European Union Common Fisheries Policy, the landing obligation aims to reduce the wasteful practice of discarding and improve fisheries sustainability by encouraging fishers to avoid unwanted catches.

We work closely with the Irish fishing industry to develop technical solutions that reduce unwanted catches. This helps address challenges posed by the EU landing obligation and boost fisheries sustainability by decreasing landings of small (juvenile), over-quota and non-target species.

Read more about our projects with Industry which address the landing obligation at:

Industry Projects

Improving Carbon Efficiency

BIM has commenced work on improving carbon efficiency in the fishing sector. Key gear related methods to reducing fuel use and carbon emissions include improve detection of catches as they enter the net, and reduced netting which lowers drag or the weight towed by the vessel during fishing. 

Read about our work on improving detection of Dublin Bay prawns in the net here.

For More Information

We also publish key studies and new analytical methods in peer reviewed journals which contributes towards the science which underpins sustainable fisheries.

Sustainability & Certification

Fisheries Publications