2005-2007 University Marine Biological Station Millport (UMBSM) North Sea Partans Survey dataset https://portal.medin.org.uk/portal/start.php?tpc=010_dc983f91e2402b0353782caf02955665 Fishing for partans (Cancer pagurus), European lobsters (Homarus gammarus) and velvet swimming crabs (Necora puber) with bated traps is an economically and culturally important activity for remote coastal communities. The project study was assigned to survey the perceptions of fishermen regarding the state of, knowledge of, and the current research they want to be conducted on trap fisheries of lobster and partans in Caithness, Scotland. Creel fishing is the primary source of income for many isolated coastal communities. The north east of Scotland is characterised by small isolated communities, of which Caithness belongs. Caithness (Wick fishery district) has a small inshore fishery which houses small vessels of less than 12m in length, operated by one or two men crew and which fish for mixed species (H. gammarus, C. pagurus, N. puber and N. norvegicus). There are approximately 32 static gear fishing vessels in Caithness, 90% of which are members of the Caithness Static Gear Fishermen's Association (CSGFA). Local fishers' have reported an increasing fishing effort offshore of larger fishing vessels (larger than 12m). Vivier vessels which target offshore edible crab grounds in northern and western Scotland, have influenced the shift from inshore to offshore fishing. The super crabbers which fish offshore are few in number, however they produce over 50% of the crab landings in the Highland region which are mostly export catch. 297 tonnes of H.gammarus and 6914 tonnes of C.pagurus were landed in Scotland in 2001, reaching 3.4 million GBP and 7 million GBP at sale. The Highland region landed 68 tonnes and 4980 tonnes of H.gammarus and C.pagurus respectively, with the Wick District (Caithness area) responsible for landing 52% of combined partans catch. The fishing effort of non local offshore vessels may prove to be an emergent threat to the sustainability of inshore partans stocks and the livelihood of the Caithness coastal communities. The local management of shellfisheries in the Caithness area was appealed under the Highland Shellfish management Organisation (HSMO), however it was recently rejected by the Scottish Executive and by local stakeholders. The concerns of fishermen were surveyed and prioritized during the project. The surveys indicated that fishers were most interested in temperature and weather factors which affected fishing, therefore influencing the direction of the two year project. The project investigates the relationships between past climatic and environmental variability and fishing effort and also assesses the structure of the current fishery. Fishers records and ICES fishery statistics were used to determine the relationships between environmental factors and partans landings per unit effort (LPUE) and fishing effort. The project aims to provide fishers with information which would enable them to support local management of the Caithness inshore creel fishery. 20070301