Investigation of data flow to foreign fishermen

There have been several incidents in the Northern North Sea and West of Shetland where fishing vessels have become entangled with subsea equipment.

These incidents are costly and hazardous both to the fishermen and to the offshore operator.  They can cost millions of pounds to rectify and prevention is far better than cure.  There are a number of measures in place to try to prevent interaction between fishing gear and subsea equipment.  These include active measures such as

• guard boats
• standby vessels with ARPA radar
• giving warnings to vessels that are close to or approaching safety zones
• fishing vessel plotters
• FishSafe

and also passive measures such as:

• 500m safety zones around subsea developments and platforms
• designing subsea structures to offer less resistance to trawl gear or not to trap gear (an example is the Cocoon used on Penguins)
• warning devices
• improved awareness and communication between the fishermen and the oil industry

This study looked in detail at the last of these measures – the improved awareness and communication between the fishermen and the oil industry. Communication links are well established in the UK but it is not clear if the relevant information is reaching the fishermen from other countries who trawl in UK waters.  We looked at three areas in the Northern North Sea and West of Shetland.  The first part of the project identified the fishermen in these areas.  The main demersal fishing effort from non-UK countries was identified as being from Norway, France and Germany.  The second stage of the project involved talking to the fishermen and fishing organisations from these countries to find out what information reaches them, how useful it is, and how communications can be improved.

The project identified several areas where information was not reaching fishermen and also some significant gaps in their understanding of subsea developments in UK waters.  Proposals were made for further steps to improve and streamline the flow of data to the fishermen.  Improved communications with fishermen should reduce the occurrence of gear fouling and result in significant cost savings for the clients.