2 THE EAST ANGLIA ZONE
2.1 Finfish 4.
5.
The Zonal Environmental Appraisal (ZEA) was undertaken in 2010 with the purpose of identifying potential sites for individual windfarms within the zone. The fish and shellfish impact assessment included in the ZEA is summarised as follows:
The landings data show that the principal species landed by weight from the Zone are plaice Pleuronectes platessa and sprat Sprattus sprattus (both approximately 28%); cod Gadus morhua (approximately 13% of total landings); sole Solea solea (approximately 10% of total landings); with flounder Platichthys flesus, horse mackerel, dab, and herring each accounting for approximately 1 – 2% of the landings. Elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) make up approximately 9% of the total landings by weight with the key species caught being thornback ray Raja clavata and spurdog Squalus acanthias.
6.
Of these species, plaice, sole and to a lesser extent cod are commercially important to both UK and non‐UK fleets that operate within the East Anglia Zone. Other species which are of secondary importance to commercial fisheries (such as herring, sandeels and sprat) play an important role in the North Sea food web, being key prey items for marine mammals and birds.
7.
Another key source of information is the International Bottom Trawl Survey (IBTS). This survey is carried out annually twice a year by eight countries and covers the entire North Sea and Skagerrak/Kattegat with the principle objectives of determining the distribution and relative abundance of pre –recruits of the main commercial fish species (e.g. herring, cod, whiting, haddock, Norway pout, mackerel, sprat and saithe), to monitoring the distribution and relative abundance of all fish species and selected invertebrates and the collection of hydrographical and environmental data (ICES, 2010). The IBTS data give an indication of the relative importance of species within the East Anglia Zone, as listed in Table 2.
Evidence plan Fish and Shellfish method statement
East Anglia THREE & East Anglia FOUR Offshore Windfarms
September 2013 Page 9
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