Commercial Fisheries Study
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South West of England Regional Development Agency Wave Hub Appendix J to the Environmental Statement June 2006 WAVE HUB DEVELOPMENT EIA COMMERCIAL FISHERIES STUDY FINAL REPORT May 2006 Prepared for EMU Ltd by Martin Esseen, 19, St. Patrick’s Road, Wicklow Town, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. Tel / Fax +353 404 62713 Email: [email protected] Wave Hub Development EIA: Commercial Fisheries Study Final Report May 2006 Report No. 05/J/1/06/0782/0539 Client: Halcrow Group Ltd Ash House Falcon Road Sowton Exeter EX2 7LB Emu Ltd Head Office 1, Mill Court The Sawmills Durley Southampton Hampshire SO32 2EJ Tel : 01489 860050 Fax : 01489 860051 www.emulimited.com email : [email protected] ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS DOCUMENT CEFAS Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science CFP Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union CSFD Cornwall Sea Fisheries District DEFRA Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (ex MAFF) EA Environment Agency EIA Environmental Impact Assessment ES Environmental Statement EU European Union ICES International Council for the Exploration of the Sea MCA Maritime and Coastguard Agency mt Metric tonne TAC Total Allowable Catch ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sincere thanks are due to everybody who gave freely of their time and knowledge to assist in this study and in the production of this document. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The use of the word “fisherman” in this document does not denote a gender bias but reflects common usage throughout the industry. Wave Hub Development EIA Commercial Fisheries Study CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. xi 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview of Project .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Need for Site Specific Fisheries Activity Study ........................................................ 2 1.3 Overall Objective ...................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Study Area................................................................................................................ 2 1.5 Deployment and Potential Safety Zones.................................................................. 3 2.0 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Overview .................................................................................................................. 4 2.2 Analysis of DEFRA fisheries surveillance data ........................................................ 4 2.3 Consultations with the industry ................................................................................ 4 2.4 Analysis of DEFRA landings data ............................................................................ 5 2.5 Other sources of information.................................................................................... 5 2.6 Coverage and accuracy ........................................................................................... 5 3.0 ANALYSIS OF SURVEILLANCE DATA ................................................................................. 6 3.1 General..................................................................................................................... 6 3.2 Data analysis............................................................................................................ 6 3.2.1 Annual distribution........................................................................................6 3.2.2 Monthly distribution ......................................................................................6 3.2.3 Distribution by nationality .............................................................................7 3.2.4 Distribution by fishing method and nationality..............................................8 3.2.5 Seasonality of gear types.............................................................................8 3.2.6 Spatial distribution of all fishing activity........................................................9 3.2.7 Activity of U.K. vessels.................................................................................9 3.2.8 Activity of French vessels.............................................................................9 3.2.9 Activity of Belgian vessels............................................................................9 3.2.10 Distribution of trawling by nationality............................................................9 3.2.11 Distribution of potting by nationality ...........................................................10 3.2.12 Distribution of netting..................................................................................10 3.3 Conclusions............................................................................................................ 11 4.0 CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INDUSTRY........................................................................... 12 4.1 Introduction............................................................................................................. 12 4.2 Main target species ................................................................................................ 12 4.3 Spatial distribution and seasonality of fisheries ..................................................... 13 4.4 Main fisheries of the area....................................................................................... 20 4.4.1 Inshore .......................................................................................................20 4.4.2 Middle ground.............................................................................................23 4.4.3 Offshore grounds........................................................................................25 4.5 Approximate numbers of vessels by port............................................................... 25 4.6 Approximate numbers of fishermen by port ........................................................... 26 5.0 ANALYSIS OF DEFRA LANDING STATISTICS .................................................................. 27 5.1 Introduction............................................................................................................. 27 5.2 Overview of fisheries in rectangle 29E4................................................................. 28 5.2.1 Total annual landings .................................................................................28 5.2.2 Monthly landings ........................................................................................28 5.2.3 Landings by port.........................................................................................29 5.2.4 Landings by gear type and port..................................................................29 Report No. 05/J/1/06/0782/0539 May 2006 vii Wave Hub Development EIA Commercial Fisheries Study 5.2.5 Landings by vessel category......................................................................31 5.2.6 Landings by species...................................................................................31 5.2.6.1 Dover Sole.................................................................................32 5.2.6.2 Edible (Brown) Crabs.................................................................34 5.2.6.3 Monkfish.....................................................................................36 5.2.6.4 Mackerel.....................................................................................37 5.2.6.5 Lemon Sole................................................................................39 5.2.6.6 Lobster .......................................................................................41 5.3 The fisheries of Hayle............................................................................................. 43 5.3.1 Accuracy of DEFRA landings data.............................................................43 5.3.2 Annual landings..........................................................................................43 5.3.3 Seasonality of landings ..............................................................................44 5.3.4 Landings by gear type................................................................................45 5.3.5 Landings by category .................................................................................45 5.3.6 Landings by category and gear type..........................................................45 5.3.7 Seasonality of fishing methods ..................................................................46 5.3.8 Landings by species...................................................................................46 5.3.8.1 Annual trends in landings by species ........................................47 5.3.8.2 Monthly trends in landings by species .......................................48 5.3.8.3 Landings by species and gear type ...........................................49 5.3.9 Conclusions of the fishery at Hayle (based on DEFRA data) ....................49 5.4 The fisheries of St Ives........................................................................................... 50 5.4.1 Annual landings..........................................................................................50