Introduction
This information has been produced by the Fisheries Agencies with support from Oil & Gas UK, the Scottish Fishermen's Federation (SFF) and the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO). It has two primary purposes. Firstly, it seeks to provide information to enable all interested parties better to understand the potential for interaction between the fishing and offshore oil and gas industries. Secondly, it seeks to encourage meaningful dialogue in order that competing concerns can be addressed and, wherever possible, dealt with as early as possible in the planning process. It will also aid the newly introduced environmental impact assessment process, and will inform seismic, exploration, field development and decommissioning activities and the preparation of oil spill response strategies.
The fisheries agencies collect information about the marine environment and the living resources it supports in order to advise on regulation and conservation policy. The staff involved in work connected with the fishing and offshore oil and gas industries are located at centres in Scotland and England. The Aberdeen Marine Laboratory, formerly part of the Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department (SOAEFD) is now a division of Fisheries Research Services (FRS), an Executive Agency of The Scottish Office. The Lowestoft and Burnham-on-Crouch Laboratories are now part of the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF).
The following maps have been compiled from data collected and collated by FRS and CEFAS. This work forms part of comprehensive study programmes financed, respectively, by The Scottish Office and by MAFF. The data are mapped as reported and describe the sensitivities of the main commercial species.
The species spawning and nursery area map are constantly revised in the light of the latest information. For some species we have decided not to produce maps. For example, the information on monkfish life history is not yet very comprehensive and other species, such as brown crab, are very locally distributed and exploited. The fishing activity maps are based on the averaged data for the years 1991-1996. The relative value maps describe 1996 values.
Some readers may have local knowledge of species spawning activity, that might improve subsequent editions. This information can be passed on to either R Johnstone of FRS, or Dr S I Rogers of CEFAS, at the addresses indicated below. Requests for further information may be similarly forwarded.
In order to identify sensitivities by quadrant, the map of oil and gas activity on page 1 should be photocopied on to a transparent sheet. It can then be overlaid on the individual maps. Because commercial landings data are collected on a coarser scale than applies to oil and gas licence blocks (see later), the maps are only indicative of potential sensitivities. They should not be read too literally and an overly detailed interpretation is not advised.
The following additional sources of information may also be of interest.
UKDMAP. Project Manager, Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, Bidston Observatory, Birkenhead, Merseyside, L43 7RA.
Knijn, R. J., Boon, T. W., Heessen, H. J. L. & Hislop, J. R. G. 1993 Atlas of North Sea fishes. ICES Cooperative Research Report 194, 268 pp.
Lee, A. J. & Ramster, J. W. 1981 Atlas of the seas around the British Isles. Lowestoft: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Directorate of Fisheries Research.
The North Sea and Atlantic Marine Oil and Gas Activity and Concession Map. Oilfield Publications Ltd, Po Box 11, Ledbury, Herts, HR8 1BN.
The Energy Report, Published annually with the permission of the Department of Trade and Industry on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, PO Box 276, London SW8 5DT.
Jennings, S, Alsvag, J., Cotter, A.J., Ehrich, S., Greenstreet, S. P. R., Jarre-Teichmann, A., Mergardt, N., Rijnsdorp, A. D. And Smedstad, O. (1998). International fishing effort in the North Sea: an analysis of temporal and spatial trends. Fisheries Research, in press
For citation purposes this booklet can be referenced as:
Coull, K.A., Johnstone, R., and S.I. Rogers. 1998. Fisheries Sensitivity Maps in British Waters. Published and distributed by Oil & Gas UK.
Further copies are obtainable, free of charge, from the addresses below, or from Oil & Gas UK, 9 Albyn Terrace, Aberdeen.
The electronic version of this document was created by D C Moore of the Environmental Protection Section of the FRS Marine Laboratory. Please E-mail any comments or suggestions to mooredc@marlab.ac.uk
Production Operations Index
