the North Sea. The highest intensity grounds are located in the north west of the East Anglia Zone and to the immediate south. Due to an absence of Dutch historic rights within the UK 6-12 nm limit all activity by this fleet occurs outside this boundary.
246. The second highest level of activity occurring in the offshore areas of the East Anglia THREE project is by Belgian vessels. This is predominantly beam trawling, although otter trawling also occurs albeit to a lesser extent. Figure 14.30 and Figure 14.31 show that activity by the Belgian fleet occurs over wider areas than the Dutch including the central and southern North Sea, the Channel, Western Approaches and in the Celtic and Irish Seas. With reference to the East Anglia THREE project based on the data obtained the majority of Belgian activity is by the larger class of vessels (over 300bhp) and occurs predominantly over the offshore section of the export cable corridor outside the 12nm limit as these vessels have access to historic rights only if using demersal otter trawls (Figure 14.30). Activity by the Eurocutter fleet (Figure 14.31) is higher inside the 6-12nm limit and occurs over a smaller central area of the export cable corridor. Activity from both fleets within the East Anglia THREE windfarm site is very low.
247. Activity by UK registered vessels within the vicinity of the offshore section of the East Anglia THREE cable corridor and East Anglia THREE site is considerably lower than that of the Dutch and Belgian fleets. Although there is activity by UK registered over 15m vessels in these areas, from the information obtained it is apparent that the majority of these are Dutch owned and operated beam trawlers fishing UK quota. A limited number of local vessels occasionally undertake longlining and to a lesser extent, netting within the vicinity of the East Anglia THREE site. However, the majority of the local fleet target a variety of species using longlines, drift and fixed nets, pots and trawls along various sections of the export cable corridor with the highest activity occurring within the 6nm limit. These vessels are predominantly small (under 10m) and limited in their operational range and the grounds available to them.
248. Available data on French fishing activity is limited. Based on consultation and the official information available, activity by the French fleet within the East Anglia THREE site is low. Low to moderate levels of activity by trawlers operating either demersal or pelagic otter trawls (or a combination of both) are recorded over the central area of the export cable corridor.
249. The available data indicates that activity by the German fleet in the East Anglia THREE site is negligible. Levels of activity increase recorded around the north
Preliminary Environmental Information May 2014
East Anglia THREE Offshore Windfarm
Chapter 14 Commercial Fisheries Page 106
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118