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Introduction In the interests of safety and the protection of the environment, Oil & Gas UK and the United Kingdom Seafish Industry Authority are to further improve co-operative liaison between the UK offshore oil and gas industry and the fishing industries of nations which fish UK waters. In furtherance of this objective, in February 1997, Oil & Gas UK agreed to make a significant financial contribution towards a Seabed Information Service which the Seafish Industry Authority of the UK will develop and manage. The Seafish Industry Authority through Seafish Technology have undertaken to establish and maintain a service regularly providing information about offshore oil and gas installations and industry activities for the benefit of fishing skippers. This information will augment navigation charts covering the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) area west of the Shetlands and in the Irish Sea, and will be made available to fishing skippers of any nationality who are legally entitled to fish in UK waters. Scope The Oil & Gas UK sponsorship will support an increase of resources at the Seafish Technology base in Hull from where Kingfisher services are currently provided. Sponsorship is initially for a three-year period and involves the hiring of cartographic staff and mapping hardware/software. The resulting information, which will be provided as bulletins accompanied by paper chart(s) and/or digital formatted chart overlays suitable for use in electronic charts systems, will define the position and nature of any temporary or permanent offshore installations which are a potential hazard to fishing vessels or their gear. Source information will come from Oil & Gas UK Members who will provide data in an easily used format on a regular basis. Relevant information will include: fixed structures of any kind floating production systems (FPSOs) mobile rigs and drill ships pipelines flowlines and cables seismic survey operational plans Conclusion This joint initiative will extend and improve Seafish Technology (Kingfisher) service to cover the West of UKCS and particularly the West of Shetlands area where considerable deep sea (heavy gear) fishing activity takes place, and the UK part of the Irish Sea. The benefits to all parties include: reduced risk to fishermen and the offshore workforce reduced risk of environmental damage resulting from collisions or structure damage reduced risk of damage to installations caused by fishing activity reduced risk loss of fishing gear For further information see: Kingfisher Information Services