Fishing sightings data: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Information requested
You asked for:
“fishing vessel surveillance data held by the Marine Directorate for the most recent five-year period available (e.g. 2019–2024).
Specifically, I am seeking surveillance records (e.g. from aircraft or vessel surveillance) for actively fishing vessels within the following ICES rectangles:
39E2, 39E3, 39E4, 40E2, 40E3, 40E4, 41E2, 41E3, 41E4, 42E2, 42E3, and 42E4.
For each record, please include as far as available:
- Vessel nationality (flag state)
- Gear type
- Date of activity
- Position coordinates (in decimal degrees)
- Activity type or fishing status: fishing / in transit / laid stationary (if available)
If possible, please provide the dataset in a standard geospatial or tabular format (e.g. excel, CSV or shapefile).”
Response
Sightings data from previous years (2016-2024) has already been released for previous EIR requests, however, as the number of documents and their file sizes are often too large to publish on the FOI pages of the Scottish Government website, it is not all currently publicly accessible. I enclose a copy of the information which includes the years 2020-2024 (5 years) as requested.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG