Scientists from the UK and Ireland completed a week-long training at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in Belfast to identify burrows of Nephrops norvegicus, known locally as Dublin Bay prawns or langoustines.

Dr Pia Schuchert of AFBI described the prawns as living in burrows under the sea with features like driveways for sand expulsion and two or more entrances. Teams use underwater television surveys with cameras on sleds to monitor seabeds in multiple locations each year. Analysts across the UK and Ireland review footage to estimate populations and inform fishing quotas.

Dr Heidy Dias attended the AFBI-led school to refine skills in distinguishing prawn burrows from other seabed features amid silt and fish activity. Her team works on a seabed-mapping project for Northern Ireland.

Jennifer Doyle of the Marine Institute in Galway noted the commercial value of Nephrops stocks to fishing nations in the western Irish Sea, where AFBI specialists have collaborated for years.

Chris Firmin, a shellfish scientist from England, participated in person and virtually to teach burrow identification techniques. The training involves AFBI, the Marine Institute, and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.

Prawn fishing generates £114 million annually for the UK and €61 million for Ireland.