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FEATURE SPONSOR


RESEARCH & INNOVATION


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HOLDERNESS FISHING


INDUSTRY GROUP AND HE SAYS THAT A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FISHERMEN AND WINDFARM DEVELOPERS IS CRUCIAL


EASING THE PROCESS


To ease the process of coexistence, Kingfisher Information of Seafish continues to develop the KIS-ORCA service with Subsea Cables UK and RenewableUK, charting positional data for fishing plotters. Matt Frow, Kingfisher Manager, commented: “There is a huge amount of information on KIS-ORCA; all easy to install. It’s not just about the turbines, there’s a lot of subsea cables, concrete mattresses and hazards that skippers need to be aware of”. KIS- ORCA aims to provide the locations of cable and renewable structures in a bid to keep fishermen informed and safe. Mike also praised the data for plotters, which is free to use. He added: “Most people receive the Kingfisher maps and plotter files here and I’d highly recommend them to skippers. I have helped people install them on plotters, and it is a very useful resource.


“The main thing is going to be exact locations of turbines and cables. We know generally where things are planned for, as we get the information from developers before construction starts, but there are small changes in positions as construction progresses.


“Having it all in one place as a definitive exact location for turbines, and cables, and that sort of thing, that is very useful. And having it in a format that can go straight on to someone’s plotter massively reduces the chances of error, which is obviously very important.”


MAINTAINING COMMUNICATION LINKS


Former skipper Tom Watson is a liaison officer in Fleetwood, who ensures the communication lines between fishermen and developers remain open, commented: “The


Kingfisher plotter data is excellent and a necessary tool for working fishermen. I am always telling fishermen about the function and how to use it, and how if it’s put on their plotter, they’ll get pictures of the windfarm on their screen. I think it’s first class and I share that around.” Tom also added “You have to destroy the myth that it’s the end of the world. I’m not pro-windfarm – not by a long way. But you’ve got to learn to live with it. If you don’t learn to live with it, it’ll put you out of work.”


UNFOUNDED CONCERN


Tom Watson is aware of fishing industry concern over stock levels changes pre and post development and explained: “We do know that during the building and construction in the Irish Sea that we asked for fisheries projects where a commercial boat fished in the area before, during, and after construction. What we found was that the species caught and the amount caught was pretty much the same at each stage.” During construction and maintenance


of offshore windfarms, fishermen may be restricted to where they can fish. However, when operational, there is no legislation stopping fishing within windfarms. Operators may apply for a 50m safety zone around turbines, or they may agree with fishermen to an advisory safety zone of the same size, which helps with fishing safety and protection of structures. All turbines on the KIS-ORCA data have the 50m zone mapped to help skippers.


CAUTION IN CERTAIN CONDITIONS


Mike Cohen who expressed the need to fish with caution in certain conditions: “You have to keep a close eye on things and I really wouldn’t want to be in amongst the turbines in less than ideal conditions. If there was a strong wind blowing and you’re moving around as you’re hauling gear, you’re vulnerable. If a string of pots get wrapped around a wind turbine, you’ve probably lost that. That means you’ve lost a lot of expensive gear, not to mention your lost fishing capacity and a risk to your safety.” Tom Watson also confirmed that he has experience of the potential hazard that cables can cause, with cables becoming exposed due to shifting seabed - some staying exposed. Because of this, there is a real need for fishermen to exercise caution close to cables and keep in contact with the latest updates.


IN SUMMARY


Filippo Locatelli, Offshore Wind Development Manager at RenewableUK summarised the importance of coexistence from an industry standpoint: “For successful development of an offshore windfarm, early dialogue with fishermen and their representatives is essential. To achieve coexistence, open communication is vital to the successful construction and operation of an offshore windfarm. The information supplied via the Kingfisher Bulletin and KIS-ORCA is important to this process.”


Seafish


www.windenergynetwork.co.uk


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HUMBER UPDATE


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