Assessment of the distribution and intensity of fishing activities in the vicinity of aggregate extraction sites
- Reference:
- 08/P73
- Organisation:
- Cefas (with British Geological Survey, Sussex Sea Fisheries Committee and the University of East Anglia)
- Amount Funded:
- £249,735
- Status:
- Current
We propose to better understand the distribution and intensity
of fishing activities in the vicinity of aggregate extraction sites
at the four REC areas around the UK coast. This will be achieved
for all four REC areas using high resolution satellite Vessel
Monitoring System (VMS) data. Building on the outcomes of MEPF
07/04, we will study the distribution patterns of fishing
activities in relation to the seabed habitats. Along the UK south
coast, data collected by the Sussex Sea Fisheries Committee will be
integrated with VMS data to produce a single dataset on the fishing
activities for inshore and offshore areas. Having achieved this, we
will investigate the correlation between trawl scar density on the
seabed surface and fishing activity data. The capacity to link
fishing activity with observed impacts will provide a powerful tool
for application in both site-specific and regional assessments
conducted in areas subject to marine aggregate extraction
activity.
To date we have extracted all VMS data for the REC areas for UK
and non-UK vessels from the VMS database. The extraction has been
run for data from 2001 to 2007. This raw data will now be used to
construct distribution and intensity maps for the areas of
interest.
SSFDC have started the analysis of 2007 observation data. The
2007 dataset will be integrated with the VMS in the next few
months.