Isle of Man wins fisheries award

Fisherman now use light mesh trawls instead of dredging the sea bed

The Isle of Man has been announced as the winner of the Billingsgate School UK Sustainable Seafood Awards.

Members of the Manx government fisheries department accepted the award at a ceremony in London.

Isle of Man queenies were shortlisted in the finals with six other products from as far afield as Alaska and Spain.

Director of Fisheries Andy Read said: "This award is confirmation that the Isle of Man fishing industry is doing extremely well".

He added: "It is a great compliment and highlights the fact that employment is going up while our stock levels are sustainable."

Over the past decade Manx fisherman have worked alongside the government to balance commercial needs and the need to protect the marine environment.

Fisherman now use light mesh trawls instead of dredging the sea bed, while juvenile queenies are thrown back into the sea and protected.

Plans to make a stretch of the Isle of Man's coastline into a Marine Conservation Zone were welcomed by local fisherman.

Under the proposal an area off Ramsey Bay would be closed to scallop dredging and queenie trawling to help replenish fisheries.