More than 130 over10m vessels are based at the three Co Down ports of Ardglass, Kilkeel and Portavogie, where catches totalling 17,025t valued at £19.7m were landed locally in 2006.
When landings made by Northern Irish boats into ports in Cumbria, the Clyde and along the east coast of Scotland and England are taken into account, catch value rises to some £25m.
Ninety eight per cent of Northern Ireland's fleet now rely on nephrops throughout the year. Most of the bigger prawn trawlers work twin-rig gear, while the smaller boats, which account for a large proportion of the local fleet, work single trawls.
The
