This study examined the role of predation in restricting early benthic phase (EBP) lobsters to shelter-providing substrata. In the field, the survival of animals provided with cover in the form of cobble and gravel substrata was significantly higher than unsheltered controls. Small benthic fish, particularly gobies Pomatoschistus minutus and rockling Ciliata mustela were the primary predators subtidally while crabs Carcinus maenus appeared to be the dominant intertidal predator. Predatory attack primarily occurred within minutes of the lobsters being deployed. The study reinforces the role played by predation in restricting EBP European lobsters to shelter-providing substrata.

Short-term effects of fishing on benthos from a mud patch in the northwestern part of the Irish Sea were investigated in 1994-1996 by means of samples taken both before and shortly after (ca. 24 h) fishing activity. No quantitative historical benthos data are available for the period prior to commencement of the fishery, although limited qualitative data exist. Therefore, studies of medium to long-term effects involved sampling the fauna of areas around wrecks (i.e., unfished pseudo-control sites) for comparison with fished grounds. Attempts were made to calculate the short, medium, and long-term impact of the fishery on the benthos and surrounding environment. Direct (short-term) effects were not quantifiable at a heavily fished offshore site (75 m depth); however, some changes were visible in a less fished, shallow (35 m depth) site. Medium to long-term effects were more discernible at the offshore site. Only minor changes were observed at the inshore location, suggesting that it is fishing intensity per se, rather than the direct impact from passage of the gear, that constitutes the major factor controlling long-term negative trends in the benthos of the Irish Sea Nephrops grounds.

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Aquaculture is a generic term that covers a wide variet of culture techniques and cultured s ecies under different conditions and in different geographicar localities. It is typically a littoral anirural activity, and is rapidly expanding. An assessment of available literature concerning the interaction of aquaculture and the environment was conducted using the Aquatic Science and Fisheries Abstract (ASFA) database from 1978 to December 1991, incorporating a variety of definitive key word strategies together with a classical search of the available literature. Of the 2692 references collected, 70% were made up of publications from the ASFA database, while 30% consisted of 'gre ' publications (i.e. Government re orts, Working Group reports and publications not included in tle ASFA database). The literature feaned from the ASFA database tends to refer to specific interactions of environment and a given cuLre s ecies in a iven location, while the grey literature tends to deal with the broader implications. Most orthe researct focuses on the most commonly cultured species in developed Western countries. Consequently, information on extensive aquaculture is based on the interactions arising from cyprinid (12%), oyster (13%) and mussel culture (8%), while information on intensive culture is concerned main1 with trout culture in fresh water (20%) and salmonid culture in shallow marine localities (6%). Tiere is a general lack of information on the waste output of commercial farming systems of marine finfish species new to the aquaculture industry and on their basic biological requirements in cultivation, as well as their environmental interactions. Other gaps in the literature relate to the discharge of chemicals into the environment and the effects on the immediate environs and adjacent ecosystems and the accidental or intentional release of cultured species.