LOW water temperatures may be preventing prawns – vital to Scotland's fishing industry – from emerging from their seabed burrows.
Scottish lobster catches have already been hit by the recent cold snap. Now a scientific article published by Marine Scotland has suggested hauls of prawns are also being affected.
The article looked at factors affecting prawn catches in the key Fladens North Sea fishery.
From January to April catches hit an 11-year low, falling by 52% compared to the same spell last year. The west coast has seen a smaller fall.
Marine Scotland scientist Nick Bailey said in the article: "Recent unusual environmental conditions appear to be limiting the emergence of the nephrops [prawns] from the burrows in which they live. This in turn is limiting the opportunities for a fishery.
"The reasons for this are unclear but this may be because of lower-than-usual water temperatures or prolonged spells of severe weather."
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