44. MMO data has therefore been used to provide an indication only of the commercial species present by ICES rectangle to identify those species to be taken forward for the assessment of impacts.
11.5.5.1 Principal Commercial Species
11.5.5.1.1 UK MMO Landings Statistics 45. Annual landings weights (average 2003-2012) of the principal commercial species targeted in ICES rectangles relevant to the East Anglia THREE project (33F1, 33F2 and 34F2) are shown in Table 11.12. The fish species landed in the highest volumes are sprat, plaice, cod, sole, skates and rays, thornback rays and horse mackerel. Landings of plaice were highest in offshore rectangles, representing approximately half of total landings of the offshore cable analysis area and a third of landings in the windfarm analysis area, but were negligible in the inshore cable analysis area. Sprat landings were over an order of magnitude higher in the inshore cable analysis area compared to the offshore cable analysis area and the windfarm analysis area. Horse mackerel landings are constrained almost entirely to the offshore cable analysis area. Landings weights of sole, cod, skates and rays and thornback rays were all highest from the inshore cable analysis area compared to the windfarm analysis area.
46. With respect to shellfish, almost all landings are from the inshore analysis area. By weight, whelks constituted the highest landings, whilst those of edible crab and lobster were considerably lower.
47. Annual and seasonal variations in landings from UK registered vessels in the ICES rectangles occupied by the East Anglia THREE project are shown in Diagram 11.2 to Diagram 11.5 in Appendix 11.2. With respect to seasonal variability in the wind farm analysis area, plaice landings peak during the winter (November to February), corresponding to the high intensity spawning period defined by Coull et al. (1998) and Ellis et al. (2010). The highest cod landings from the windfarm analysis area also corroborate the spawning period defined by Coull et al. (1998) and Ellis et al. (2010) (December to April).
48.
In those rectangles relevant to the offshore export cable (inshore and offshore cable analysis area), seasonal landings of cod are also highest during the spawning period (e.g. January to April). Although sole are landed throughout the year, seasonally the highest weights are recorded from April to August, overlapping partially with spring spawning. Herring landings are considerably higher during the tail end of the winter spawning period (January) compared to other months.
Preliminary Environmental Information May 2014
East Anglia THREE Offshore Windfarm
Chapter 11 Fish and Shellfish Page 31
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