‘Little evidence to warrant an increased minimum ormer size’

A potential increase, from 8cm to 9cm, in the minimum size ormers could be collected was discussed at the Marine Biology Section most recent meeting.

‘This is not saying it’s right or wrong, just that there isn’t any scientific evidence to support the decision either way,' said section secretary Mike Paige.

Mr Paige said that as ormers could live down to 25metres deep, well below low tide mark, there should always be an adult stock which can repopulate the intertidal area.

‘As a result there was a feeling that the most important aspect would be an educational piece to encourage people to return rocks back to their original position to reduce the damage done to the intertidal area,’ he said.

‘Studies have shown that it takes up to 10 years for a rock which has been turned to recover its biome if it’s not returned correctly.’

Ormers breed between July and September, with females releasing up to one million eggs. After a year they reach the size of a fingernail, attaining the minimum landing size of 8cm after three or four years.

They reach sexual maturity at a relatively small size, with the number of eggs released increasing as they grow.

In Jersey the minimum size is already 9cm and there is a bag limit of 20 ormers per person per day.

However, Mr Paige said it was difficult to make direct comparisons between the two islands.

‘While Jersey may have a large size requirement they do have a much longer collecting season as their open season starts in November,’ he said.

‘We also felt that rather than increasing the sizes, other measures such as bag limits and potentially restrictions on selling ormers would be more effective to protecting stocks.’