1.12. Commercial Fisheries

  1. Commercial fisheries refers to any form of fishing activity legally undertaken and sold for taxable profit. The commercial fisheries active across the Array and wider regional area were characterised via analysis of landing statistics and mapping of fishing grounds, including vessel monitoring system data, aerial surveillance, vessel plotter data and consultation with the industry.
  2. The commercial fishing fleets operating across the wider regional area include:
  • UK, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch and German pelagic trawlers targeting herring;
  • UK demersal otter trawlers targeting Nephrops, haddock and mixed demersal species;
  • UK demersal seine targeting haddock and mixed demersal species;
  • UK scallop dredgers targeting king scallop; and
  • UK potting vessels targeting brown crab and lobster.
  1. The characterisation of commercial fisheries found that in comparison to the wider regional area, the Array is not heavily fished or targeted by UK vessels, with relatively low value of catches in recent years. Historically the area overlapping the Array has been more important for catches of haddock (notably from 2011 to 2014).
  2. A number of potential impacts on commercial fisheries, associated with the construction, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning of the Array were identified. These included:
  • temporary loss or restricted access to fishing grounds;
  • long term loss or restricted access to fishing grounds;
  • displacement of fishing activity into other areas;
  • interference with fishing activity;
  • increased snagging risk, which could result in loss or damage to fishing gear;
  • increased steaming/vessel transit times and
  • impacts to commercial exploited species populations.
  1. For reduced access or loss of fishing grounds it was assumed that fishing would not resume within the Array due to the moorings and anchoring systems deployed as part of the floating wind turbine infrastructure.
  2. With the proposed mitigation measures in place,, all of these impacts result in effects of minor adverse significance (not significant in EIA terms).
  3. Cumulative impacts arising from the Array together with other projects and plans (including fisheries management measures implemented as part of the UK’s Marine Protected Area network) were assessed and predicted to result in effects of minor adverse significance (not significant in EIA terms) for most impacts.
  4. However, effects of moderate adverse cumulative significance (significant in EIA terms) were identified across all phases in relation to temporary and long term loss or restricted access to fishing grounds for the demersal otter trawl and demersal seine haddock fishery. There is a level of uncertainty attached to this level of significance and this uncertainty leads to a potential overstatement of the effects, rather than understatement. As a result of this precautionary assessment, additional monitoring has been proposed to examine patterns of fishing activity in the local area surrounding the Array.
  5. No likely significant transboundary effects with regard to commercial fisheries from the Array on the interests of EEA states were predicted.