Case study Northern Devon
Northern Devon FLAG case study
Introduction
The FLAG area in North Devon, southwest England (See Figure 1) is focused upon the fishing communities of Appledore (eight vessels: twelve fishermen), Ilfracombe (ten vessels: twenty fishermen, including two over fifteen metre trawlers and eight potters), Clovelly (three vessels: six fishermen) and Bideford (sixteen vessels: twenty four fishermen) (Northern Devon FLAG, 2011). In total the Northern Devon FLAG covers an area of 1,903 km² and creates employment in fisheries for approximately sixty people (FARNET, 2014). The area is remote from major urban centres, extremely rural, with highly valuable natural environment assets (specifically: North Devon Coast Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Exmoor National Park, North Devon UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Lundy Marine Conservation Zone). The fishery is a year round demersal fishery catching a variety of flat fish. Ray is the main catch in North Devon, accounting for 70% of all landings (Northern Devon FLAG, 2011).
