Offshore windfarms - monitoring impacts on the commercial fishing industry: good practice guidance

Appendix B Dataset Analysis report

Executive summary

The Dataset Analysis Report summarised and reviewed relevant datasets that are, or could potentially be, used to monitor the commercial fishing industry in relation to offshore wind developments in the UK, with a particular focus on Scotland. Datasets from EIA baselines, Fisheries Management and Mitigation Strategy (FMMS) monitoring requirements, Project Environmental Monitoring Plan (PEMP) suggestions, socio-economic monitoring approaches applied to OWFs and MPAs, and future monitoring proposals were summarised alongside datasets used within peer-reviewed literature and other relevant marine projects.

The most commonly used datasets to develop OWF EIA baselines were landing statistics, fishing effort data, VMS data, AIS data, ScotMap, fisheries surveillance sightings and data collected from engagement with local fishers and their representatives. Fisheries monitoring within PEMPs proposed a desk-based study through reviewing landings data, VMS data, Marine Traffic Surveys, MCC records and OFLO, CFLO and guard vessel records. In addition to the aforementioned, fisheries observation studies for monitoring were proposed. There was no evidence of a consistent or streamlined monitoring of fisheries impacts or reporting approach to commercial fishing in relation to OWFs. It was recommended that a standardised approach to dataset use, and analysis should be developed when assessing the potential impacts of OWFs on commercial fisheries as this would benefit all stakeholders.

Identified datasets from reviewed Socio-Economic Impact Assessments (SEIAs), SEIA guidance and peer-reviewed literature included: survey and interview data, questionnaires, focus groups, landings data, VMS data, surveillance data, UK fishing vessel lists, Seafish economic performance data, Succorfish database, ICES stock assessment reports, scientific and grey literature, government economic/business statistics, labour market information, fisheries employment and compliance, and outputs of the Marine Social Attitudes survey and European annual economic reports. The identified spatial datasets were similar to those currently used to create commercial fisheries baselines within OWF EIAs (landings data, VMS, surveillance data), whereas socio-economic indicator datasets were not commonly used by developers to assess potential OWF impacts on the commercial fishing industry.

New techniques of monitoring the commercial fishing industry were also identified, through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, sensors transmitting positional data, (drop-down) cameras, mobile phone apps, observers on vessels and Global Positioning System (GPS).

Relevant datasets were assessed on their spatial and temporal scale, accessibility, robustness, and confidence. The review showed that there is no specific dataset alone that can monitor the commercial fishing industry and/or the potential socio-economic impacts on the commercial fishing industry, as all assessed datasets displayed data gaps related to various levels of data scale/resolution, timeframes and metadata attached. It was recommended within the conclusion that a combination of quantitative and qualitative datasets should be used to monitor commercial fishing activity, to enable cross-verification of data and to enable the deeper understanding of how fishers are affected by OWFs.

B.1 Introduction

Over the last decade, Scotland has almost doubled its renewable electricity generation (Scottish Government, 2023a). The current installed capacity for offshore wind generation in Scotland is 2 Gigawatts (GW), which is 16% of the United Kingdom’s (UK) installed offshore wind capacity (Scottish Government, 2023a). The Scottish Government aims to have a completely decarbonised energy system by 2050 (Scottish Government, 2023b). Many offshore wind projects are in development in Scotland. In January 2021 and through the clearing process in August 2022, Crown Estate Scotland (CES) offered Option Agreements for 20 offshore wind projects around Scotland, totalling 27.6 GW of potential new offshore wind installed capacity. In 2023, the related Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) decarbonisation leasing process offered exclusivity agreements to developers for a further 5.4 GW of offshore wind projects (Crown Estate Scotland, 2023).

The commercial fishing industry is considered the most wide-spread human activity in Scottish waters and is well established (Scottish Government, 2015). The development of Offshore Windfarms (OWFs) has the potential to prevent or modify access to fishing grounds and could have an impact on fishing patterns, distribution and effort, potentially resulting in knock-on socio-economic effects on the fishing sector. Some effects may be short-term, due to temporary activities during pre-construction/construction phases, whilst others could have potentially longer-term effects, such as during the operational windfarm phase. The cultural and economic importance of the commercial fishing industry is recognised by Scotland’s National Marine Plan (NMP), together with the need to address potential co-existence between industries as outlined in General Policy 4 (GEN 4) of the NMP (Scottish Government, 2015). As such, commercial fisheries are identified as a key receptor and stakeholder for the offshore renewable sector.

The increasing levels of activity from marine renewables, as well as other sectors, alongside protection of marine habitats and species, increases the spatial demands on the marine environment. This ‘spatial squeeze’ might have negative impacts on the commercial fishing industry (ABPmer, 2022). Whilst baseline fisheries data are collated in the pre-construction phase of an OWF, there is generally a lack of commercial fisheries data collection post-construction. This means that it can be difficult to validate assumptions made in the pre-construction Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for an OWF regarding potential impacts to commercial fisheries during windfarm construction and operation.

This work has been commissioned by the Scottish Government (SG) with the objective of informing the development of good practice guidance on commercial fisheries monitoring in Scotland in relation to offshore wind developments. The aim of this report is to contribute to closing the data evidence gap identified by the ScotMER Fish and Fisheries Receptor Group relating to monitoring of commercial fishing activity in the vicinity of offshore windfarms and cables (FF.03-2022)^[32]. This report also covers the evidence gap identified by the ScotMER Socio-Economic Receptor Group: ‘How can we improve the monitoring and evaluation (comparing predicted against monitored impacts) of socio-economic impacts?’ (S.07-2022)^[33].

The geographical extent of this report is the UK, with a particular focus on reviewing datasets relevant to monitoring of commercial fisheries in Scotland. Further details on monitoring practices within the UK and other countries including Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States (US) can be found in the Rapid Literature Review^[34].

For the purposes of this review, the term ‘monitoring’ is defined as gathering data and evidence on the impacts of all project stages (pre-application, pre-construction, construction, post-construction) of an OWF on the commercial fishing industry, including validation or evaluation of predicted impacts (i.e., auditing).

This report will provide an in-depth review of datasets relevant to monitoring of commercial fisheries in Scotland, analysing what data exists, what data can potentially be used for socio-economic assessments of commercial fisheries, and the merits and drawbacks of different datasets.

B.2 Objectives

The objectives of this report are as follows:

4. Identify and review existing datasets of relevance to commercial fisheries monitoring;
5. Identify potential datasets for socio-economic assessments of commercial fisheries; and
6. Review the advantages and disadvantages of each dataset.

Although the geographical extent of the report is the UK, the main focus is Scotland. The report will focus on the potential socio-economic impacts on the commercial fishing industry but does not consider ecological impacts on target species.

B.3 Approach to Review

This Section explains how existing and potential monitoring datasets have been identified and discusses the approach used to review these datasets.

An internet search was conducted between December 2023 and March 2024 to research documentation relevant to monitoring commercial fisheries within the UK, particularly Scotland. The following search engines were used: Microsoft Bing, Google, and Google Scholar, alongside the Marine Directorate^[35] and Planning Inspectorate^[36] websites. A focussed review of the following sources was undertaken:

• EIARs and post-consent documentation relevant to commercial fisheries for Scottish and English offshore wind developments and accompanying stakeholder responses;
• Literature sources related to monitoring impacts of other marine licenced activities on commercial fisheries, such as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) or fisheries management measures;
• Peer-reviewed journal articles (reviews and research papers) and PhD theses relevant to fisheries monitoring;
• Government/fishing industry reports on marine spatial planning, fisheries management, and fisheries monitoring; and
• Socio-economic impact assessments (SEIA) relevant to the commercial fishing industry.

The above sources were reviewed to understand which existing datasets are already used for fisheries monitoring, as well as datasets currently used for another purpose which could be suitable for fisheries monitoring. The sources selected for the review are relevant to both fisheries and socio-economic datasets. Furthermore, data sources relevant to other marine activities (e.g., MPAs, marine spatial planning and fisheries management) were also reviewed to enable a holistic review of available commercial fisheries datasets.

There were some limitations encountered during the search, which are summarised below:

• Limited accessibility to some technical reports and fisheries data due to protection of personal or commercially sensitive information;
• Limited data availability and/or outdated data;
• Limited reliable data on inshore fishing activity; and
• Insufficient published information on the impact of offshore developments on the commercial fishing industry.

The specific limitations of the datasets have been discussed in more detail in Section B.6.

To ascertain the suitability for monitoring of commercial fisheries, each dataset was reviewed to understand:

• Spatial and temporal scale – i.e., is there adequate spatial coverage for this dataset? Is the dataset at a spatial and temporal scale that allows project-specific monitoring to be conducted?
• Accessibility – i.e., what are the data processing needs or resource requirements? Is the dataset freely available?
• Robustness – i.e., how comprehensive is the dataset? Are all vessels and fleets represented?
• Confidence – i.e., how accurate is the data? Is it subject to quality checks and verification procedures?

B.4 Overview of potential impacts from offshore wind developments on the Commercial Fishing industry

It is important to understand the nature of the potential impacts of offshore wind developments on commercial fisheries to determine the suitability of different datasets for monitoring. Table 7‑4 summarises the potential impacts on the commercial fishing industry that could arise during the development of an OWF, informed by expert judgement and a review of OWF EIAs. The impacts within the table are direct impacts that might have knock-on (indirect) impacts on fishers' socio-economic lives. Concerns have been raised by the Scottish fishing industry on the increasing prevalence, scale, and evolving technology of offshore wind developments in Scotland. Fishers have concerns around how offshore wind developments could affect their livelihoods, and to date, there has been a degree of uncertainty regarding the potential for co-existence with OWFs.

Table 7‑4 Potential impacts on the commercial fishing industry from offshore wind developments

Loss or restricted access to fishing grounds

Loss or restricted access to fishing grounds may occur throughout the windfarm and grid export development area, as fishing vessels (both static and mobile gear operators) may be required to relocate their fishing effort to outside the developed area. This may occur as a result of pre-construction environmental and engineering surveys, the implementation of safety zones (statutory or recommended) during construction, or as a result of the presence of infrastructure during operation. When no active work is taking place, some areas may still remain restricted due to unprotected or unburied sections of infrastructure, which may cause a potential snagging risk. Fishers are legally allowed to return to the area during operation; however, successful return is dependent on the site location, turbine layout, further characteristics of the development (e.g. fixed-bottom vs floating wind turbines), type and size of fishing vessel, and discretion of the skipper of the fishing vessel.

Loss or restricted access to fishing grounds may result in a change in catch and value of landings, resulting in a change in the income of the impacted vessels. Any change in landings could have knock-on socio-economic impacts, e.g., effects on seafood processors onshore.

Displacement

Displacement is the relocation of fishing activity from an area where fishing activity typically occurs to other areas due to other licenced marine activities, including marine renewable energy developments. The potential effects of displacement could be present during all project phases.

Displacement of commercial fisheries could result in an adverse effect on fishers through increased competition on alternative grounds, conflicts between and within fishing methods, or decreased or altered catch (resulting in a change in the value of landings).

Increased steaming times

Increased steaming times as a result of displacement or moving around the offshore development (at all stages of development), could have a potential adverse economic effect on fishers. They might need to travel further afield to other suitable fishing areas, which would lead to increased costs from increased fuel usage, and potentially increased labour costs if fishing trip duration is increased.

Increased snagging risk

Structures on or near the seabed during windfarm operation may pose an increased snagging risk, particularly for mobile gear that is towed on the seabed (e.g., demersal trawls and scallop dredgers). These structures include cables, cable protection or other infrastructure associated with offshore wind developments (e.g., mooring lines of floating turbines). It should be noted that as part of the design process, the potential interaction of infrastructure with other sea users is considered. However, despite efforts to reduce any risk of snagging, a residual risk may remain.

Snagging risk may pose safety issues for a fishing vessel, and in addition, snagging on infrastructure may result in a loss or damage to the vessel or its gear and a loss of fishing time, potentially resulting in a reduced income of the impacted vessels.

Vessel collision or allision

There is likely to be an increase in vessel traffic associated with OWF construction and decommissioning works, which may potentially lead to an increased risk of collision with commercial fishing vessels.

Due to the placement of new stationary structures in the marine environment during windfarm operation, there is an increased potential risk of vessel to structure collision (allision).

Vessel collision and allision are mainly safety concerns but may also result in a loss or damage to the vessel or its gear and a loss of fishing time, potentially resulting in reduced income for the impacted vessels.

Interference with fishing gear

Due to the presence of OWF vessels during (pre-) construction and decommissioning works, there is a potential increased risk of interference with fishing activity, e.g., fouling of static gear markers, damage to and/or loss of gear. The aforementioned examples could have negative economic impacts on fishers due to loss or damage of gear or loss of fishing time.

B.5 Monitoring Dataset Identification

This Section summarises the findings of the sources reviewed, focussing on the existing and future datasets that could be used to monitor the potential impacts of OWF developments on the commercial fishing industry, where applicable. An in-depth review of the sources outlined in Section 3 was undertaken to identify potential monitoring datasets, including datasets that are currently used (or proposed to be used) for monitoring potential impacts from OWFs on commercial fisheries, as well datasets that are currently used for a different purpose but may be suitable for monitoring potential impacts from OWFs on commercial fisheries (e.g. baseline data sources used in offshore wind EIAs or as part of SEIAs).

B.5.1 Offshore Renewables Documentation

Environmental Impact Assessments

A range of datasets are used within EIAs to assess the potential effects on the commercial fishing industry (or other similar documentation such as an Environmental Appraisal, if an EIA is not required). A detailed characterisation of the commercial fisheries baseline environment must be presented to ensure that a robust assessment can be undertaken. No single dataset can comprehensively describe commercial fishing activity, and therefore, a range of qualitative and quantitative sources are typically reviewed. Please see Section 5 of the Good Practice Guidance for assessing fisheries displacement by other licensed marine activities, which provides an overview of recommended data sources for commercial fisheries baseline characterisations (Xodus and Marine Scotland, 2022).

A number of EIAs have been reviewed to identify the datasets currently used to inform EIAs that could be suitable to monitor the potential effects of OWFs on commercial fisheries. The following data sources were identified as typically being used to inform the baseline characterisation for commercial fisheries within proposed OWF development areas:

Primary data:

• Stakeholder engagement data (e.g., annotated charts and plotter data);

Secondary data:

• Landings statistics (value, weight and effort);
• Fisheries surveillance sightings;
• Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data;
• Automatic Identification System (AIS) data. AIS transmits positional location at a higher frequency than VMS; and
• Other published reports and datasets (e.g., ScotMap).

The monitoring approaches proposed within the reviewed EIAs are summarised in Table 7‑5 below.

Table 7‑5 Baseline datasets within published EIAs

Development

Neart na Gaoithe^[37](Scotland)

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

Landing statistics (MMO);

Landing statistics (European Union (EU) Data Collection Framework);

VMS data (MMO);

Fishing effort data (EU Data Collection Framework);

Published fisheries controls and legislation (European Commission);

Published fisheries controls and legislation (MMO);

Published fisheries controls and legislation (Marine Directorate);

AIS validation document (Marine Traffic);

AIS records (Marine Traffic);

Small vessel position data (Succorfish); and

Engagement with fishing representatives, fish selling agents, and individual fishers.

Proposed approach to monitoring

No monitoring post-construction stated in EIA. However, a commitment to agree a monitoring plan with Marine Directorate outlining the need and type of monitoring required as part of the Forth and Tay Offshore Windfarm Developers Group (FTOWDG) was made.

Development

Moray West^[38] (Scotland)

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Fisheries surveillance sightings data (MMO);
• Landing statistics (MMO); and
• VMS data (MMO).

Proposed approach to monitoring

No approaches to monitoring post-construction stated in EIA.

Development

Moray East^[39] (Scotland)

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Fisheries surveillance sightings data (MMO);
• Landing statistics (MMO);
• VMS data (MMO);
• VMS data (Marine Directorate);
• ScotMap data (Marine Directorate); and
• Engagement with fishers and their representatives.

Proposed approach to monitoring

Continue monitoring of commercial fisheries related issues via ongoing engagement with representatives of the fishing industry.

Development

Seagreen Wind Energy^[40] (Scotland)

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Fisheries surveillance sightings data (MMO);
• Landing statistics (MMO);
• Fishing effort data (MMO);
• VMS data (MMO);
• Fisheries Information Network (FIN) VMS data; and
• ScotMap Report (Kafas et al.,2014).

Proposed approach to monitoring

No monitoring post-construction stated in EIA.

Development

Beatrice Offshore windfarm (BOWL)^[41] (Scotland)

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Fisheries surveillance sightings data (MMO);
• Landing statistics (MMO);
• VMS data (MMO);
• Data analysis (Marine Directorate); and
• Engagement with fishers and their representatives.

Proposed approach to monitoring

No monitoring post-construction stated in EIA.

Development

Pentland Floating Offshore Wind^[42] (Scotland)

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Landing statistics (MMO);
• Fisheries surveillance sightings data (MMO);
• VMS data (MMO);
• Spatial data (National Marine Plan Interactive (NMPI);
• VMS data (Marine Directorate);
• Fishing effort data (ICES);
• AIS data (MMO);
• Salmon and Sea Trout Fishery statistics and other associated reports (Marine Directorate); and
• EU Data Collection Framework Database (EU Data Collection Framework Database).

Proposed approach to monitoring

No monitoring post-construction stated in EIA.

Development

Hywind^[43] (Scotland)

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Landing statistics (MMO);
• Landing statistics (Marine Directorate);
• Salmon and sea trout catch statistics by Salmon Fishery District (Marine Directorate);
• Spatial data (ScotMap); and
• Seasonal landings of primary target species (Marine Directorate).

Proposed approach to monitoring

No monitoring post-construction stated in EIA.

Development

West of Orkney Windfarm^[44] (Scotland)

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Fisheries surveillance sightings data (MMO);
• Fisheries surveillance sightings data (Marine Directorate);
• Fisheries Statistics (landings data (value) by fishing method, vessel length and species) (MMO);
• VMS data (MMO);
• VMS data (Marine Directorate);
• AIS data (MMO);
• Inshore Fisheries Mapping Project in Scotland (ScotMap);
• Spatial data (Kingfisher Information Service);
• Mapping fisheries and habitats in the North and East Coast Regional Inshore Fisheries Group (NECRIFG) (Shelmerdine and Mout);
• Orkney Islands Regional Marine Plan: Consultation Draft (Orkney Islands Council (OIC));
• Pilot Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Spatial Plan (Scottish Government);
• State of the Environment Assessment: A Baseline Assessment of the Orkney Islands Marine Region;
• Sectoral Marine Plan: Regional Locational Guidance (Scottish Government);
• EU Data Collection Framework Database landings statistics; and
• Data on fishing grounds gathered during stakeholder engagement meetings, where possible (various).

Proposed approach to monitoring

There are ongoing discussions with the fishing industry to monitor the disruption that could occur for fishing vessels within the offshore windfarm.

Development

Kincardine Offshore windfarm^[45] (Scotland)

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Landing statistics (MMO);
• Landing statistics (Marine Directorate);
• UK Fisherman’s Information Mapping (UKFIM) data; and
• Spatial data (ScotMap).

Proposed approach to monitoring

No monitoring post-construction stated in EIA.

Development

East Anglia ONE North^[46] (England)

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Landing statistics (MMO);
• Fishing effort data (MMO);
• Fisheries surveillance sightings data (MMO);
• VMS data (MMO);
• Landing statistics (landings value and effort data) (Belgian Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO));
• VMS data (Belgian ILVO);
• VMS and Integrated Landings Data (Netherlands, Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies (IMARES));
• Fisheries Statistics (landings value and effort data) (IMARES);
• VMS data (Comité National des Pêches Maritimes et des Elevages Marin (CNPMEM));
• Fishing Effort Data (French L’Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER));
• VMS data (German Federation of Agriculture and Food); and
• VMS data (Danish Ministeriet for Fødevarer, Landbrug og Fiskeri (MFLF)).

Proposed approach to monitoring

No monitoring post-construction stated in EIA.

Development

Hornsea Three^[47] (England)

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Landing statistics (EU Data Collection Framework);
• Landing statistics (European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products);
• Landing statistics (MMO);
• VMS data (MMO);
• Fisheries surveillance sightings data (MMO);
• Monthly Shellfish Activity Returns data (Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority);
• Activity density mapping (The Crown Estate);
• VMS data (Wageningen Economic Research); and
• Vessel tracking plots (Wageningen Economic Research).

Proposed approach to monitoring

No monitoring post-construction stated in EIA.

Development

Hornsea Four^[48] (England)

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Landing statistics (EU Data Collection Framework);
• Landing statistics (MMO); and
• VMS data (MMO).

Proposed approach to monitoring

Continuous liaison with the fishing industry will be undertaken through the project’s lifespan. Notice to Mariners (NtM) with details on scheduled maintenance will be issued and further details of communication roles and responsibilities will be listed.

Development

Berwick Bank Cambois Connection^[49] (Scotland) Cable project

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Fisheries surveillance sightings data (MMO);
• Fisheries surveillance sightings data (Marine Directorate); and
• Landing statistics (MMO).

Proposed approach to monitoring

No monitoring post-construction stated in EIA.

Development

MeyGen Tidal Array^[50] (Scotland) Tidal project

EIA commercial fisheries chapter baseline datasets

• Landing statistics (Marine Directorate); and
• VMS data (Marine Directorate).

Proposed approach to monitoring

No monitoring post-construction stated in EIA.

Post-consent plans

This Section provides a summary of the review of relevant post-consent plans for a number of offshore renewables projects. Typically, offshore renewable projects in Scotland are required to develop post-consent plans which are approved by the MD-LOT (on behalf of Scottish Ministers, in consultation with relevant stakeholders) prior to construction taking place, and in accordance with consent conditions. If deemed necessary, monitoring requirements would be listed as consent conditions, with the proposed approach to be included within relevant post-consent plans. The post-consent plans considered most relevant to commercial fisheries monitoring are the Fisheries Management and Mitigation Strategy (FMMS) and the Project Environmental Monitoring Plan (PEMP).

FMMS case studies

The FMMS details commitments made by the developer on management and mitigation measures relevant to commercial fisheries, to facilitate co-existence and reduce potential impacts from the project. Under some Marine Licences granted through the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, Marine and Coastal Act 2009, and/or Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, the FMMS is a requirement for offshore wind developments (Scottish Government, 2020b). The FMMS must be prepared in consultation with interested stakeholders, however, the final decision on approval is with Scottish Ministers.

The content of the FMMS must be in line with guidance published by the Fishing Liaison with Offshore Wind and Wet Renewables (FLOWW) group^[51] and Scotland’s National Marine Plan. The guidance is outlined below:

• FLOWW Best Practice Guidance for Offshore Renewables Developments: Recommendations for Fisheries Liaison (FLOWW, 2014); and
• FLOWW Best Practice Guidance for Offshore Renewables Developments: Recommendations for Fisheries Disruptions Settlements and Community Funds (FLOWW, 2015).
• Scotland’s National Marine Plan (2015)

The equivalent of the Scottish FMMS is the English Fisheries Co-existence and Liaison Plan (FCLP). The FCLP is a requirement for offshore developments in English waters and sets out to facilitate co-existence with commercial fishing stakeholders and the approach to fisheries liaison throughout all phases of the project’s lifespan.

The FMMS and FCLP documents are both live, meaning that developers will continue updating them in consultation with regulatory bodies and stakeholders, which include MD-LOT, Marine Directorate scientific staff, the MMO, Natural England and NatureScot, once the consent for the project has been granted.

Monitoring requirements within multiple FMMS and FCLP documents were reviewed and summarised in Table 7‑6 below. Overall, none of the FMMSs or FCLPs reviewed incorporated details on monitoring of commercial fisheries impacts.

PEMP case studies

The overall objectives of a PEMP are for the developer to outline and define how their project will contribute to environmental monitoring, under consent conditions. The PEMP is a live document that should be updated as the project progresses and is designed to provide guidance to those involved at distinct phases of the project’s lifecycle.

Monitoring requirements within PEMP documentation are summarised in Table 7‑6 below. In most instances, monitoring of commercial fisheries impacts has not been/is not proposed. Exceptions to this are Moray West and Neart na Gaoithe, where monitoring of commercial fisheries was required to be within the scope of the PEMP, in accordance with their consent conditions. In both instances, a range of publicly available and project-specific data sources were proposed for monitoring to provide both primary (i.e., project-specific) and secondary (i.e. publicly available), quantitative and qualitative data, including:

Primary data:

• Records from the Offshore Fisheries Liaison Officer (OFLO) and guard vessels (where available);
• Analysis of Marine Traffic Surveys in respect of fishing vessel activity;
• Analysis of MCC records; and
• Stakeholder engagement with the fishing industry via the Fisheries Liaison Officer (FLO).

Secondary data:

• Monthly landings weight to understand changes in catch and value; and
• Annual VMS data. VMS transmits positional vessel information every 2 hours.

Table 7‑6 FMMS, FCLP and PEMP monitoring approaches

Development

Neart na Gaoithe (under construction) (Scotland)

FMMS/FCLP

• Provide details of approach to commercial fisheries liaison;
• Provide details on the roles and responsibilities of key project personnel, including Company Fisheries Liaison Officer (CFLO);
• Management and mitigation procedures during the construction and operational phases to facilitate co-existence; and
• Confirmation that the measures described in the FMMS align with the original licencing application.
• Provide details of approach to commercial fisheries liaison;
• Provide details on the roles and responsibilities of key project personnel, including Company Fisheries Liaison Officer (CFLO);
• Management and mitigation procedures during the construction and operational phases to facilitate co-existence; and
• Confirmation that the measures described in the FMMS align with the original licencing application.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

Commercial fisheries monitoring is proposed via desk-based study reviewing:

• Landings data by port on a monthly basis to monitor changes in live weights and value for key target species and for inter-annual variations to be examined;
• Analysis of OFLO and guard vessel records (where available);
• Analysis of Marine Traffic Surveys in respect of fishing vessel activity;
• Analysis of MCC records in respect of fishing vessel activity;
• Analysis of VMS data; and
• Stakeholder engagement with the commercial fishing industry via the FLO.

Available data will be monitored to understand variations in the commercial fisheries baseline.

Development

Moray West (under construction) (Scotland)

FMMS/FCLP

• Provide overview of the fisheries operating within and around the development site;
• Provide details on the roles and responsibilities of key project personnel, including CFLO;
• Management and mitigation procedures during the construction and operational phases to facilitate co-existence; and
• Means for compliance with offshore consent conditions.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

The commercial fisheries monitoring will utilise the following information and data sources:

• Analysis of landings data by species and method;
• Available VMS data on UK fishing vessel activity;
• Available marine traffic survey data in respect of fishing vessel activity;
• Reports from OFLO and guard vessels (where available);
• MCC records in respect of fishing vessel activity (where available);
• Results of fisheries observation surveys (e.g., static gear and squid scout surveys);
• Records of ongoing engagement with the commercial fishing industry through the onshore CFLO;
• Any additional sources of information which may be available; and
• Other contributing factors not directly related to the development e.g., changes in legislation, quota, Covid, Brexit, etc.

Development

Moray East (operational) (Scotland)

FMMS/FCLP

• Provide overview of the fisheries operating within and around the development site;
• Provide details on the roles and responsibilities of key project personnel, including CFLO;
• Management and mitigation procedures during the construction and operational phases to facilitate co-existence; and
• Means for compliance with offshore consent conditions.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

Commercial fisheries monitoring not included in the PEMP.

Development

Seagreen Wind Energy (under construction) (Scotland)

FMMS/FCLP

• Management and mitigation procedures during the construction and operational phases to facilitate co-existence;
• Good practice procedures relating to the FLOWW guidance (2014; 2015); and
• Provide details on the roles and responsibilities of key project personnel.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

Commercial fisheries monitoring not included in the PEMP.

Development

Beatrice Offshore windfarm (operational) (Scotland)

FMMS/FCLP

• Adhere to appropriate mitigation procedures throughout all phases of the Project;
• Good practice procedures relating to the FLOWW guidance (2014; 2015); and
• Provide details on the roles and responsibilities of key project personnel.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

Post construction surveys will be undertaken to assess the seabed status in the immediate vicinity of construction and installation activities. Not specified how this relates to the commercial fishing industry.

Development

Pentland Floating Offshore Wind (consented) (Scotland)

FMMS/FCLP

Not available as the FMMS has not yet been produced.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

Unavailable as the PEMP has not yet been produced.

Development

Hywind (operational) (Scotland)

FMMS/FCLP

Not available.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

Commercial fisheries monitoring is not included in the PEMP.

Development

West of Orkney (pre-consent) (Scotland)

FMMS/FCLP

The outline FMMS produced for the consent application includes the following considerations:

• Overview of commercial fisheries receptors potentially affected by the development;
• Detailed description of the offshore development;
• Provide details on the roles and responsibilities of key project personnel; and
• Provide an overview on management and mitigation procedures.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

Unavailable as the PEMP has not yet been produced.

Development

Kincardine Offshore Windfarm (operational) (Scotland)

FMMS/FCLP

• Outlines the Project’s approach towards consulting, liaising, and undertaking mitigation actions during the lifecycle of the project;
• Developed in conjunction with the FLO;
• Transparent document that will be fully available and accessible; and
• FMMS will be reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

Commercial fisheries monitoring not included in the PEMP.

Development

East Anglia ONE North (consented) (England)

FMMS/FCLP

• Detail guidance and information used to develop the fisheries liaison and co-existence strategies;
• List roles and responsibilities of personnel involved in implementing the strategies; and
• Provide an overview of the co-existence procedures that will be implemented during construction, operation, and decommissioning phases.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

The in-principal monitoring plan for East Anglia ONE North does not propose any monitoring for commercial fisheries.

Development

Hornsea Four (consented) (England)

FMMS/FCLP

• Identify plans for co-existence with commercial fishing industry;
• Include details on fisheries liaison, engagement, safety and issues; and
• Identify mitigation strategies, where necessary.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

The in-principal monitoring plan for Hornsea Project Four does not propose any monitoring for commercial fisheries.

Development

Berwick Bank Cambois Connection (pre-consent) (cable project)

FMMS/FCLP

• Identify plans and measures for co-existence with commercial fishing industry during the lifespan of the Project;
• Details on management and mitigation measures during all phases of the Project; and
• The document will be updated post-consent in consultation with regulatory bodies and stakeholders.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

Not available.

Development

MeyGen Tidal Array (consented) (tidal project)

FMMS/FCLP

Not available.

PEMP (or equivalent document)

Not available.

Socio-Economic Impact Assessments

Socio-economic impact assessments (SEIAs) for offshore wind developments are conducted for the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy (SMP-OWE) by the Scottish Government (2020a) and assessments for individual offshore wind projects alongside the Environmental Impact Assessment. The former considers the potential socio-economic impact of all offshore wind capacity and associated footprint at a national plan level, with the latter considering impacts of individual projects on sea users and communities potentially affected by the development. Where relevant, in-combination and cumulative impacts with other projects may also be considered at a plan or project-specific level.

Typically, the SEIAs conducted for offshore renewable developments to date have focussed on impacts on employment, economic outputs, tourism, local services, socio-cultural and distributional impacts. More specifically, the assessments focus on changes in demography, housing, local services, and any impacts on the culture or quality of life within coastal areas, among other things. To date, only a limited focus has been placed on the potential socio-economic impacts on the commercial fishing industry, as this receptor is usually considered separately from the SEIA.

Table 5-3 summarises the datasets used to inform SEIAs for three offshore windfarm case studies. These case studies were chosen for the following reasons:

• Commercial scale and potential footprint of impacts to consider;
• How recent their consent application was; and
• The variability of socio-economic indicators considered.

The wider socio-economic impacts covered in the case studies (Table 5-3) and associated guidance included the following indicators:

• Employment and labour statistics;
• Economic activity and output (Gross Value Added (GVA)) by industry and region;
• Public health and wellbeing;
• Access to local services and overall infrastructure such as local transport;
• Housing demand and cost of living indicators; and
• Indices of Multiple Deprivation.

Table 5-3 SEIA Datasets

West of Orkney

• NOMIS official census and labour market statistics (ONS, 2020A);
• National records of Scotland (NRS, 2020a);
• Labour market profile (ONS, 2019a);
• Regional gross value added (balanced) by industry: local authorities by NUTS1 region (ONS, 2019b);
• UK Business Counts (ONS, 2019c);
• BRES (ONS, 2019d)
• Local authority profile (ONS, 2020/21)
• Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) (ONS, 2019e)
• Highland Housing Need and Demand Assessment (The Highland Council, 2021);
• Orkney Local Housing Strategy 2017-2022 (drawing from 2016/17 HDNA) (OIC, 2017);

Proposed monitoring approach

• Various sources used from local authority websites and other data supplied on request from the local authorities (The Highland Council (THC), 2021/22 and OIC, 2020/21);
• Data supplied on request from Public Health Scotland and National Health Service (NHS) Boards (NHS Scotland, 2021);
• STEAM reports for Caithness, Sutherland, and Highland areas supplied on request (THC, 2019);
• Orkney STEAM reports and other Orkney tourism data supplied on request by OIC (OIC, 2019-2021);
• BRES
• (ONS, 2019d);
• Value of fishing landed in local harbours (MMO, 2015-2019);
• SIMD (Scottish Government, 2020c);
• My Life in the Highlands & Islands survey (HIE, 2022);
• Evidence from the bespoke community survey questionnaires gathered as part of the community engagement process (OWPL, 2022);
• Evidence from local housing strategies – Orkney (OIC, 2017);
• Evidence from local housing strategies – Highland (THC, 2021); and

The West of Orkney Windfarm have outlined relevant embedded mitigations to the socio-economic assessment with no secondary mitigation proposed. Monitoring arrangements, which cover key performance indicators across the socio-economic topic areas will be implemented as part of the project. These factors may include, but not be limited to, socioeconomic receptors of employment, GVA, housing and local services, tourism, commercial fisheries supply chain or fish processing, as well as socio-cultural conditions and changes.

The (SCDS) has been designed in collaboration with stakeholders with the aim of enhancing local supply chain. The developer expressed interest in continuing to work with the local community councils and local stakeholders to discuss monitoring arrangements.

Berwick Bank

• Aberdeen Harbour Masterplan (Aberdeen Harbour, 2020);
• Annual Population Survey (ONS, 2021a);
• BRES (ONS, 2021b);
• Estimates of Households and Dwellings in Scotland (National Records of Scotland (2021);
• Insight Department: Dundee and Angus Factsheet 2019 (Visit Scotland, 2020a);
• Insight Department: Edinburgh and Lothians Factsheet 2019 (Visit Scotland, 2020b);
• Insight Department: Fife Factsheet 2019 (Visit Scotland, 2020c);
• Insight Department: Grampian Factsheet 2019 (Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray) (Visit Scotland, 2020d);
• Insight Department: Highland Factsheet 2019 (Visit Scotland, 2020e);
• Insight Department: Scottish Borders Factsheet 2019 (Visit Scotland, 2020f);
• Montrose Port Authority Annual Review 2019/20 (Montrose Port Authority, 2020);
• Nigg Development Masterplan (THC, 2013);
• Opportunity Cromarty Firth (webpage) (Opportunity Cromarty Firth, 2022);
• Population estimates – local authority based by single year of age (ONS, 2021c);
• Population Projections for Scottish Areas, 2018-based (National Records of Scotland, 2020b);
• Regional gross value added (balanced) by industry: local authorities (ONS, 2021c);
• Scottish Energy Ports Capability Directory (webpage) (Scottish Energy Ports Capability Directory, 2022);
• Scottish Government announcements and policy (webpages) (Scottish Government, 2022b);
• Stock by Tenure 2018 (Scottish Government, 2021); and
• The Economic Impact of Scotland’s Renewable Energy Sector (Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI), 2021).

Proposed monitoring approach

All impacts identified deemed not significant, so no proposed monitoring suggested.

Hornsea Four

• Gross Value Added (balanced approach) (ONS, 2021d);
• Business Register & Employment Survey (ONS, 2020b);
• Mid-Year Population Estimates (ONS, 2021e);
• Annual Population Survey (ONS, 2021a); and
• Claimant Count (ONS, 2021f).

Proposed monitoring approach

The assessment of socio-economic effects from Hornsea Four concluded that there will be significant beneficial effects on the local community, as there will be employment opportunities, through construction activities. The assessment does not identify mitigation measures beyond the existing commitments for socio-economic effects.

In addition to these case studies, the SEIA supporting the draft SMP-OWE (Scottish Government, 2019) has been reviewed, as well as best practice guidance provided by Seafish and UK Fisheries Economist Network (UKFEN) (2012) on conducting financial and economic impact assessments for the fishing industry. The guidance provides a list of appropriate data sources for conducting economic impact assessments and assigns a robustness, confidence and accessibility score to each dataset:

Primary data:

• Survey and interview data;

Secondary data:

• Landings data;
• VMS data;
• Surveillance data;
• UK fishing vessel list;
• Seafish economic performance data (for fishing fleets and for seafood processors);
• Succorfish database;
• ICES stock assessment reports;
• Scientific and grey literature; and
• European annual economic report on the EU fishing fleet.

The SEIA supporting draft SMP-OWE looked at the potential effects of the plan on the economic output (GVA) of the commercial fishing sector and also the impacts on seafood processors. The following datasets were considered as part of this assessment:

• Average annual value of landings by UK vessels – linked to VMS data for vessels over 12 m and to ScotMap data for 12 m and under vessels;
• Economic performance data – where a reduction in landings value was predicted, the impact on GVA was calculated as a percentage of fishing turnover from the Seafish fleet economic dataset and economic performance dataset (Seafish, 2024). The direct and indirect GVA and employment impacts were then determined using Type 1 multipliers from the Scottish input-output tables (Scottish Government, 2023c)^[52].

B.5.2 Marine Protected Areas

Monitoring socio-economic impacts within MPAs

Fishing activity within MPAs can be managed through plans, policies and restrictions, such as reducing or removing fishing pressure (permanently or seasonally) within the whole MPA or certain zones. In order to understand the socio-economic impact of these measures within MPAs on other marine users, the Scottish Government acknowledged that it is important to monitor and report the socio-economic impact of management measures implemented within MPAs (Scottish Government, 2020d).

A study on monitoring the socio-economic impacts of MPAs (Scottish Government, 2020d) was reviewed to understand the monitoring methodology and whether similar types of monitoring could be suitable and implemented for monitoring the potential effects of OWFs. The study focused on various marine industries that could be affected by the management measures within the MPAs, including the commercial fishing industry. The study employed a mixed method approach to use both quantitative and qualitative data to better understand the socio-economic impacts of MPA measures in Scotland. The following data was analysed:

Primary data:

• Qualitative data collected through interviews with key stakeholders and members of communities affected by MPAs during a period of fieldwork in September 2019;
• Structured interviews carried out with the general public and local businesses during the fieldwork period, which determined the wider impact on coastal communities ;

Secondary data:

• Existing quantitative fishing activity data (as outlined in Table 7‑5) and data on fisheries employment and compliance, provided by Marine Scotland (now Marine Directorate);
• Relevant information in the Marine Social Attitudes survey (2018)^[53].

It was noted that, due to the complexity of the marine environment and associated industries (including the commercial fishing industry), it can be challenging to determine which factors are influencing changes in these industries. The approach used in this study looked to identify and understand changes and attribute changes to MPAs.

The conclusion combined the analysis of fishing activity data, employment data and interviews (see Table 5-4). Overall, the results showed that there were changes in landings after MPA management measures were introduced. Impacts were localised, while both positive and negatives impacts were evident in different parts of the fishing industry. The study suggests that monitoring of the impacts of MPA management measures should be continued, as the marine environment and the industries depending upon it continue to develop. The inclusion of qualitative techniques, such as key stakeholder interviews, short, structured interviews with business owners and members of the public, in monitoring and impact assessment and combining stakeholder engagement was also recommended.

Table 7‑4 Datasets used for the “Monitoring socio-economic impacts of MPAs” document (Scottish Government, 2020d)

Fishing activity data: Landings data (tonnage) by ICES rectangle and port; and VMS data

The study used fishing landings data to identify trends and changes related to MPAs. This data was collected and made available by Marine Directorate and includes data on tonnage and target species of vessel landings, gear type used, vessel length, and voyage start and end times. This study used the available VMS data from Marine Directorate only.

Landings data were analysed at ICES rectangle and port level for a three-year time period prior to the implementation of management measures and were compared with a three-year period post-implementation of management measures. The landings for the ICES rectangles containing MPAs were reviewed and ports near MPAs were compared to those not near MPAs. The study also considered the number of vessels registered to ports near MPAs.

VMS data was used to ascertain the duration of fishing (on an annual basis) within or near MPAs for a two-year period prior to the implementation of management measures.

Employment data

Data on the number of vessels registered in each port and the number of employees on each vessel is held by each fishery office and supplied to Marine Directorate on an annual basis. This employment data was reviewed to understand potential employment trends with a comparison between west coast (i.e. where most management measures in MPAs were implemented) and east coast (i.e. where there are fewer MPAs).

Compliance data

Data is collected on the number of reports of suspected incursions into MPAs, and the number and type of enforcement outcome, for Marine Directorate’s Compliance Division. The Compliance Division also has information available about the level of monitoring conducted by various Marine Protection Vessels.

Social attitudes survey data

A survey was carried out, commissioned by Marine Directorate, to further understand how Scottish residents interact with the marine environment, including sea and coastal areas. The survey was available online to a representative sample of Scottish residents, and two of the questions related to MPAs.

Key stakeholder interviews

In-depth interviews were conducted by Marine Directorate with industry representatives of the commercial fishing sector, representatives of the seafood processing sector, local authorities, and tourism and community groups. They were selected from a list of individuals and organisations who represented groups that had the potential to be impacted by MPAs. Twenty-eight interviews were carried out altogether, which provided qualitative information and provided an overview of observed socio-economic changes following the introduction of MPA management measures.

Short, structured interviews

Short, structured interviews were conducted with members of the public and with local businesses. Both members of the public and local businesses located on the high street were approached and asked to complete a short, structured interview. Convenience sampling was considered an appropriate way to understand the views of the members of the local community quickly.

Four case study MPAs were chosen and the impacts of these individual MPAs on the local businesses and communities were analysed. The MPAs were selected to ensure that a good range of issues relating to MPAs were covered. Information from the key participant interviews and preliminary analysis of fishing data were used. Identified criteria included:

• Perceptions or evidence of compliance issues in an area;
• Controversial designation of the site or concerns expressed during the consultation;
• Type of activity prohibited in the area (to get a range);
• Any evidence of changes in fishing fleet composition and/or activity;
• Any changes in port registration or landings near the MPA;
• Other marine developments nearby;
• Potential for, or existence of, tourism in the area; and
• Existence of active community groups in the area.

SEIA for MPA management measures

Beyond SEIAs for individual projects and wider marine spatial planning (Sectoral Marine Plan), as outlined in Section B.5.1, SEIAs are also undertaken to understand the effects of management measures proposed for MPAs. The Scottish Government published a guidance document on conducting SEIA’s in October 2022 (Scottish Government, 2022a). The following fisheries datasets are recommended to be used:

• Landings data (species, weight, value on first point of sale) – derived from FISH1 forms or logbooks; and
• VMS data.

The guidance recommends determining the fishing activity within the MPA for individual vessels through the following methods:

For vessels over 12 m:

• Filter VMS data to retain locations ‘at fishing speeds’ (< 6 knots);
• Link filtered VMS data to logbooks data using voyage dates, departure and return times;
• Identify which activity days had VMS activity at fishing speeds within an MPA boundary for the preceding five years;
• Determine how many logbook days were spent within the MPA.

For 12 m and under vessels:

• Extract reported latitude and longitude on FISH1 or paper logbooks, aggregate into 0.05 decimal degree C-square grid; and
• Identify activity dates where the grid cell intersects with an MPA boundary for the preceding five years, if available.

In addition, the guidance provides a step-by-step approach for estimating the weight and value caught within the MPAs before and after the MPA management measures were introduced:

• Categorise vessels identified as fishing within the MPA by gear type;
• Determine the time spent fishing within the MPA to calculate the average over a 5-year period, e.g., utilising landings and logbook data or VMS data;
• For the vessels identified as fishing within the MPA, determine the time spent fishing within the MPA vs outside the MPA;
• Determine the proportion of landed total catch and value that is derived from the MPA.

B.5.3 Peer-reviewed Literature

In addition to the sources identified above, the most relevant peer-reviewed journal articles on commercial fisheries monitoring as well as socio-economic literature have also been reviewed and summarised within this section.

Socio-economic Literature

Bennett et al

Bennett et al. (2021) outlined a proposed framework for designing bespoke socio-economic monitoring plans for commercial fisheries. Data collection is noted as a crucial step in monitoring, and a number of data types are listed as potentially being applicable to socio-economic monitoring plans, including:

• Quantitative methods (such as primary or secondary data, questionnaires, and household surveys);
• Qualitative methods (such as stakeholder or expert interviews); and
• Focus groups; and

Bennett et al. (2021) noted that the suitability of each method will depend on a number of factors, such as data availability and accessibility, and recommended that an evaluation of the costs and benefits of each data source is conducted. It is also noted that a combination, or triangulation, of a number of data sources is beneficial to accurately monitor commercial fisheries. Further highlighted is the point that secondary data (i.e., data collected through fisheries organisations or managers) may provide the most cost-effective and efficient monitoring data.

Blampied et al

Blampied et al. (2023) monitored the socio-economic impact of the exclusion of mobile demersal fishing methods within two MPAs around Jersey, Minquiers and Ecrehous. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative data was collected including the following:

• Landings data (weight in tonnes and value) for the whole Jersey Fleet – considered only to provide contextual information on the local fishing industry, as it was not considered possible to assess the impact of the fishing restriction within the MPA using this data; and
• Interviews – via a questionnaire to gather both quantitative and qualitative data on changes in fishing activity, wellbeing and income. Relevant individuals to be interviewed were identified through consultation with the Jersey Government.

Rees et al

In addition, Rees et al. (2021) assessed the socio-economic impact of the exclusion of mobile demersal fishing methods at the Lyme Bay MPA. The following data sources were used to inform this assessment:

• Landings data (weight and value);
• Surveillance sightings data; and
• Questionnaire focussed on wellbeing (i.e., job satisfaction).

Glasson et al

Glasson et al. (2020) identified and discussed current procedures for planning and assessing socio-economic impacts of some large offshore wind projects in the UK, as well as the impact assessment process, methodologies, and techniques. The key findings of the study were that multiple offshore wind projects have conducted SEIAs as part of their impact assessment process, however, each SEIA assessed different factors and therefore had varied outputs.

The study recognised that economic impacts have predominance, as SEIAs usually focus on GVA and Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) in job years. Economic impact assessments tend to focus on enhancing the beneficial impacts as opposed to mitigating adverse impacts, such as education and training programmes for upskilling, and supporting the local supply chain. The focus on indicators such as GVA and FTE for economic impacts has led to a conclusion by Glassons et al. (2020) that overall, the assessment methods for economic impacts are more quantitative than social impacts, with the latter focussing on aspects such as visual and coastal impacts.

However, as indicated by the examples within the study, several quantitative criteria have been applied to social impact assessment and monitoring, including, but not limited to: volume and value of tourism activities, demographics and associated statistics, the availability and use of recreational activities, employment and education related statistics, net income expenditure for housing, fuel and food, overall housing demand, indicators for community deprivation and (access to) healthcare through, the number of patients per General Practitioner (GP).

Due to the current lack of monitoring and auditing of the potential socio-economic impacts of OWFs, accurate predictions of potential impacts continue to be difficult. This is particularly the case for in-combination or cumulative impacts and may require a more strategic approach considering multiple projects and developers, specifically where projects overlap. While the approach to assessing and monitoring impacts is based on the magnitude of impacts and sensitivity of receptors irrespective of a project’s size, the growing scale of projects and varying technical characteristics may influence the approach to monitoring taken and complexity of the initial baseline establishment. This may include considerations around how overall spatial parameters of the project and associated impacts could influence monitoring methodology.

Glasson et al. (2020) identified some examples of more extensive or innovative approaches for SEIAs and monitoring methods that go beyond established desk-based methods. These include the development and use of project-specific input-output models to monitor actual economic impacts, establishment of a Social Return on Investment model to track the outputs of any Community Benefits Agreement, and exploration of topics such as family and cultural cohesion as well as traditional economies.

Commercial Fisheries Literature

Gray et al

Gray et al. (2016) analysed fishing activity data in areas within, and relevant to, six operational windfarms in the Irish Sea. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative data sources were analysed to provide multiple observations, methods and materials (i.e. triangulation of data). This approach allows for each data source to be validated through cross verification. The following data sources were reviewed:

Primary data:

• Questionnaires issued to fishers, fisheries managers and offshore wind developers, including questions on:
  • Where fishers had operated;
  • The type of fishing gear used;
  • The species targeted; and
  • Any changes in fishing practices (supported by the provision of plotter data).

Secondary data:

• Landings and effort data – with a comparison of the five year ‘pre-construction’ average and the five year ‘post-construction’ average;
• Annual VMS data – for the periods before, during and after construction; and
• Surveillance sightings – for the periods before, during and after construction.

Furthermore, landing weights were compared with changes in Total Allowable Catch (TAC) to understand whether changes could be attributed to variations in TAC or were as a result of offshore wind developments.

B.5.4 Other Literature

Scottish Inshore Fisheries Integrated Data System (SIFIDS)

The Scottish Inshore Fisheries Integrated Data System (SIFIDS) project ran for three years between 2017 and 2020. More than 130 skippers in 43 Scottish ports hosted and conducted research trips, tested tracking and/or scanning devices, undertook surveys and contributed to equipment and software development relating to inshore fisheries management. A key aim of the project was to develop a decision support tool that would utilise collected inshore fisheries information to inform fisheries management and marine planning. The goal was to create a system that would be inexpensive to operate, flexible, and have the capacity to engage with the fishing industry.

The SIFIDS Project built upon previous research and was designed to deliver a step change in the way that inshore fisheries in Scotland could be managed in co-operation with the industry. The project focused on inshore fishing vessels around Scotland, where spatial-temporal information on the distribution of vessels and associated fishing effort is data deficient.

The SIFIDS Project consisted of various workstreams, those relevant to monitoring of commercial fishing are summarised below:

• Workstream 2 designed various systems which, through sensors and 3G/4G data, transmitted the positional data of vessels every 5 minutes. With Radio Frequency Identification (RIFD) tags, the hauling and shooting events for creel strings were monitored. The caught specimens were then scanned through a 3D laser technology to provide detailed information on the catch composition;
• Workstream 3 aimed to develop an automated mechanism to collect scallop stock data through remote sensing techniques, including deployment of drop-down cameras;
• Workstream 5 monitored fishers observations and bycatch through a mobile phone app. Fishers could submit their FISH1 forms through the app, and use a recording feature to show their tracks at sea through their mobile phone location function;
• Workstream 6 focussed on developing an online tool which brought together relevant datasets to view and interrogate. One of the main challenges was the permission to display some data, as well as anonymisation of data. Some data, such as active fishing patterns, are commercially sensitive; and
• Workstream 8 provided trained observers to survey sea trips on fishing vessels. The observers collected data through a Global Positioning System (GPS), cameras, applications to log activity, voice recorders and writable log sheets, documenting vessel details, decisions and catches, spatially and temporally.

Since the project results were published in 2021^[54], no further information has been provided on if the systems designed have been implemented.

B.5.5 Future Monitoring Datasets

Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) and iVMS

Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) is the use of imagery, sensors, and GPS to monitor operations, effort, and/or catch of fishing vessels. REM has already been used on some Scottish scallop vessels since 2017 (Fishing News, 2023). REM can be used to track inshore vessels, through inshore Vessel Monitoring System (iVMS) devices, similar to the current VMS tracking devices, which are installed on all UK fishing vessels over 12 m. VMS trackers record the location (latitude and longitude), speed, direction of travel, date and time of a vessel using General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) mobile phone signals.

iVMS data will be used in combination with other relevant data, such as catch volumes and stock levels, to improve national fisheries management in aid to improve the management and sustainability of the marine environment. The requirement for all inshore fisheries vessels under 12 m in length to be fitted with an iVMS device will be mandatory from April 2024 in England and Wales (UK Government, 2024).

The Scottish Government have not yet confirmed when iVMS devices will be mandatory for Scottish inshore fishing vessels. A consultation on the use of REM on fishing vessels in Scottish waters occurred between March and June 2022 (Fishing News, 2023). The Scottish Government have outlined that they will be implementing mandatory REM requirements on the pelagic and scallop dredge sectors following formal consultation. The Scottish Government have indicated that they will not be looking to formally consult on the implementation of REM for the demersal sector. The Scottish Government propose to use the REM systems on vessels carrying and/or deploying scallop dredge gear in Scottish waters, which will need to be considered alongside current gear restrictions in the 2017 Order (Scottish Government, 2022b).

B.6 Monitoring Dataset Review

This Section summarises the datasets identified in Section B.5 and reviews the suitability of these datasets for monitoring the impacts of offshore wind developments on the commercial fishing industry.

B.6.1 Key Considerations

When reviewing the suitability of datasets, it is important to consider how the data will be used. Using a similar approach to the Scottish Government (2020d), a methodological approach can be taken in analysing monitoring data through the following steps:

1) Create a baseline with regards to fishing activity and socio-economics;

2) Identify changes and trends in fishing activity and knock-on socio-economic impacts; and

3) Understand the potential source of these changes, and attribute changes to the offshore wind development.

It is acknowledged that due to the complex and variable patterns of fishing activity, which are influenced by a range of factors, it can be difficult to attribute changes in fishing patterns and activity to offshore wind developments specifically. This also applies to knock-on socio-economic impacts.

The purpose of this dataset analysis is to provide an overview of the datasets available for monitoring and to provide advice on their potential suitability for monitoring commercial fisheries. However, it should be noted that the suitability of datasets may depend on the location and nature of the offshore wind development. Therefore, the following considerations have been applied in determining the suitability of any dataset for monitoring:

• Spatial and temporal scale – i.e., is there adequate spatial coverage for this dataset? Is the dataset at a spatial and temporal scale that allows project-specific monitoring to be conducted?
• Accessibility – i.e., what are the data processing needs or resource requirements? Is the dataset freely available?
• Robustness – i.e., how comprehensive is the dataset? Are all vessels and fleets represented?
• Confidence – i.e., how accurate is the data? Is it subject to quality checks and verification procedures?

B.6.2 Monitoring Dataset Review

Table 7‑7 summarises the datasets identified through the review of data sources presented in Section B.5. It outlines the spatial and temporal scale, accessibility, robustness, and confidence in these datasets for monitoring the impacts of offshore wind developments on commercial fisheries.

Table 7-7 Monitoring dataset review

Dataset, source and description: Landings data (effort, weight and value).

MMO and Marine Directorate. Published annually. Landings by value (£), effort (days) and weight (tonnes) sourced from logbooks and dockside inspections, landings declarations. Landings are available for UK vessels at any port. For non-UK vessels, landings are counted at UK ports. Provides fisheries statistics by vessel size, fishing method and species at ICES rectangle scale or by port and can be analysed to determine annual and seasonal variation.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes in catch and value by vessel length, gear type, and target species. UK-wide scale; monthly statistics are published annually; published at the scale of ICES rectangle (approximately 900 NM2 ) and by port.

Accessibility: High – data is free of charge and publicly accessible. Typically used for baseline characterisations within EIAs, and therefore, the data is familiar to developers and other stakeholders.

Robustness: Medium – data can be analysed over a long-time frame to identify trends and there is a good coverage of all fleets and vessel sizes. Data may misrepresent changes in fishing activity attributable to offshore wind developments, depending on the size of the development/ project, given the large spatial scale of the landings data. Changes in landings may result from other factors such as changes in fish stocks and TAC, unrelated to the offshore wind development.

Confidence: High – data is subject to quality checks. For 12 m and under vessels, due to paper logbooks and FISH1 forms, it is not possible to verify the self-reported locations.

Dataset, source and description: Surveillance sightings.

MMO and Marine Directorate. Accessed via requests under the Freedom of Information Act ( MMO). The data gathered through these visual observations of fishing vessels provides an indication of the distribution of fishing activity, fishing methods, and nationality. Data shows fishing effort (kW per hour) and value (£) for UK vessels. Through satellite tracking equipment which is crossreferenced with landings, engine power, and logbook data. The data is anonymised and presented in a 0.05° by 0.05° grid. MMO: Data requires limited processing and is available for a range of gear types for vessels over 15 m in length. Marine Directorate: The data is provided in a web layer, and so processing is limited and covers a relatively long time period (2010 – 2016 for bottom trawls and dredges and 2009 – 2017 for bottom trawls targeting Nephrops and crustaceans). The VMS data is processed by ICES on behalf of the Oslo and Paris Conventions (OSPAR) committee and covers vessels over 12 m in length.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes in the distribution of fishing activity by gear type and nationality. UK-wide; provides a snapshot of the fishing activity at the time of the survey.

Accessibility: Medium – data is only accessible through a Freedom of Information request. Typically used for baseline characterisations within EIAs, and therefore, the data is familiar to developers and stakeholders.

Robustness: Surveillance in Scotland is undertaken on a risk-led basis and so sightings have a sampling bias. Low – does not cover all activity, as it provides a snapshot of the fishing activity at the time of the surveys only and is subject to variable survey effort.

Confidence: Medium – fishing method and nationality is assigned by sight and is not confirmed. Due to the similarities of fishing vessels when gear is in operation (especially mobile gears), it should be assumed that they are indicative only.

Dataset, source and description: VMS.

ICES processed dataset available through MMO and Marine Directorate. MMO: Data is available to download and publicly available at: MMO website. Marine Directorate: Data is available to download and publicly available at: Marine Directorate website which is available via the NMPi (Marine Scotland, 2021).

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes in the distribution of fishing activity, fishing effort and value by gear type. UK-wide; generally, two or more years delay before the data is published; and published at a 0.05° by 0.05° grid scale.

Accessibility: High – data is free of charge, and publicly accessible. Typically used for baseline characterisations within EIAs, and therefore, the data is familiar to developers and other stakeholders.

Robustness: Over 12 m vessels: High – data can be analysed over a long-time frame to identify trends, with a good coverage of fleets. Data is at a 0.05° by 0.05° grid scale, and therefore, allows for a spatial assessment of changes at a scale suitable for most offshore wind developments. Rectangles with fewer than 5 transmissions are not included within the dataset. As VMS transmissions are every 2 hours, this may not capture all activity, although this can be overcome by analysing data over longer time series (Scottish Government, 2022c). 12 m and under vessels: Low – this data does not include 12 m and under vessels.

Confidence: High – data is subject to quality checks. VMS data is filtered to include vessels travelling between 1 and 6 knots, however, there may be some vessels that steam at this speed which may be misrepresented as actively fishing.

Dataset, source and description: AIS.

Publicly available (e.g., via EMODnet and the MMO (without the parameters needed to filter for speed)). May be sourced directly via site-specific vessel traffic surveys undertaken by the developer. All EU fishing vessels > 15 m in length are required to have an AIS transponder which transmits details of the vessel’s position, speed and course. These data provide an indication of the spatial distribution of fishing activity.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes in the distribution of fishing activity. UK-wide; and generally, two or more years delay before the data is published.

Accessibility: Medium – some (older) data is free of charge, and publicly accessible, whereas other (newer) datasets need to be purchased.

Robustness: Over 15 m vessels: Low/Medium – publicly available AIS data does not typically provide information on fishing method, and therefore, only provides an indication of fishing vessel presence. This can be overcome if AIS data provides information on the vessels Maritime Mobile Service Identity ( MMSI). This may require complex data processing and may not be applicable for all vessels. Under 15 m vessels: Low – this data does not include 15 m and under vessels.

Confidence: High – data is subject to quality checks. It is possible that fishers may switch off AIS on approach for part of their transit.

Dataset, source and description: ScotMap – Inshore Fisheries Mapping Project in Scotland.

Marine Directorate. Available at: Scottish Government website (Kafas, 2014) and also via NMPi. Provides spatial information on relative value and usage (number of fishing vessels and crew) for vessels under 15 m in length and was collected through face-to-face interviews with vessel owners and operators between 2007 to 2011.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes in the distribution of fishing activity of 15 m and under vessels. As this source is not updated periodically, it can only be used to understand historical (i.e. pre-construction) activity. Scotland only; Data covers 2007 – 2011 only and is not regularly updated.

Accessibility: High – data is free of charge, and publicly accessible.

Robustness: Vessels over 15 m: Low – this data does not include over 15 m vessels. Vessels 15 m and under: Low – data is now potentially outdated and is based on a subset of fishers who agreed to take part in the project.

Confidence: Low – based on data gathered through interviews with no cross-verification of the data provided.

Dataset, source and description: Fishing Statistics – Gridded fisheries data within Scottish waters for fishing vessels under 12 m overall length (2018 – 2022).

Marine Directorate. Available at: Scottish Government website. Provides spatial information for vessels under 12 m in length, which was collected through the analysis of Fish 1 forms (since 2016) and paper logbooks (since 2018).

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes in the distribution of creel fishing activity. It is unknown whether this source will be updated periodically, therefore it can currently only be used to understand historical (i.e., pre-construction) activity. Scotland only; and Data covers 2018 – 2022 only and is not regularly updated.

Accessibility: High – data is free of charge, and publicly accessible.

Robustness: Vessels over 12 m: Low – this data does not include over 12 m vessels. Vessels 12 m and under: Low – data will most likely become outdated and may not be updated regularly.

Confidence: Low – based on data recorded by the fishers themselves, with no cross-verification of the data provided.

Dataset, source and description: SIFIDs.

Detail on the SIFIDs project is available at: MASTS website. The results of the SIFIDs project are not yet publicly accessible. The SIFIDs project was undertaken to test tracking and/or scanning devices, undertake surveys and contribute to equipment and software development relating to inshore fisheries management. The Project ran from 2017 and 2020. More than 130 skippers in 43 Scottish ports hosted and conducted research trips.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: Currently unsuitable for monitoring as the data is not publicly accessible. If the data becomes available, the positional data could be used to identify changes in the distribution of creel fishing activity. As this source is not updated periodically, it can only be used to understand historical (i.e., preconstruction) activity. Conducted from 2017 – 2020 and is not regularly updated.

Accessibility: Low – data is currently not publicly accessible.

Robustness: Low – data was collected for a subset of vessels over a specific time period.

Confidence: Unknown – details on data verification and accuracy are currently not available for the SIFIDs data.

Dataset, source and description: Inshore Vessel Monitoring System (iVMS).

As iVMS has not been fully implemented in the UK, data is currently not publicly accessible. iVMS will monitor inshore fishing activity to improve management of sustainability of the marine environment, ensuring proper fishing practices. iVMS will use GPRS mobile signals to provide positional information which is sent and stored to the UK VMS hub. The application will combine data on catch volumes, scientific evidence of stock levels and other data to improve national fisheries management and allow the MMO to improve targeted assurance activities by highlighting if present vessels are complying with regulations. Not currently available in Scotland, or in use in England and Wales, however, aiming to be mandatory later in 2024.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: Currently unsuitable for monitoring as the data is not publicly accessible. If the data becomes available and it is possible to corroborate iVMS data with FISH1 forms, the positional data could be used to identify changes in the distribution, effort and value of fishing activity for 12 m and under vessels. Not currently mandatory in Scotland, aiming to become mandatory in England by 2024, has been mandatory in Wales since 2022; and Temporal scale of the data is unknown until the data is published

Accessibility: Unknown – data is currently not publicly accessible.

Robustness: High – initial lack of historical data to use as a baseline will hinder analysis for at least the first couple of years until significant and useful analysis of patterns become apparent. If iVMS becomes mandatory for all 12 m and under vessels and the data is made publicly accessible, this will be a key resource in understanding changes in fishing activity for these vessel types with a coverage of all gear types.

Confidence: Unknown – details on data verification and accuracy are currently unknown. This will become clearer as the data is analysed and published.

Dataset, source and description: Records from Offshore and/or Company Fisheries Liaison Officer (OFLO), guard vessels and/or fisheries observation surveys.

Primary data collected by the developer. Relevant records relating to fishing vessel presence or activity. Information that could be recorded includes fishing vessel positions, static gear positions and any communications with fishing vessels, typically summarised in daily progress reports. OFLO, guard vessels or survey vessels may be present at the development site during construction and decommissioning, and periodically during the operation and maintenance phase.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To corroborate trends related to changes in fishing activity. Project-specific; and Not regularly updated.

Accessibility: Low – data is not publicly accessible and must be maintained by the developer.

Robustness: Low – provides a snapshot of the activity at the time of the OFLO and guard vessel presence at the development. Provides an indication of fishing vessel presence, with no details on gear type, target species, fishing effort and value. Will not indicate any changes in fishing activity outside the Project area (i.e. in relation to displaced effort).

Confidence: Low – there is no means of verifying the locations of fishing vessels or static gear.

Dataset, source and description: MMC records.

Primary data collected by the developer. Relevant records from the MMC relating to fishing vessel presence or activity. The MCC may be the point of contact for fishing vessels present in the development area and will record communications and fishing vessels presence and activity, as required.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To corroborate trends related to changes in fishing activity. Project-specific; and not regularly updated.

Accessibility: Low – data is not publicly accessible and must be maintained by the developer.

Robustness: Low – provides an indication of fishing vessel presence, with no details on gear type, target species, fishing effort and value. Will not indicate any changes in fishing activity outside the Project area (i.e. in relation to displaced effort).

Confidence: Low – there is no means of verifying the locations of fishing vessels or static gear.

Dataset, source and description: Data gathered through stakeholder engagement, including survey and interview data.

Primary data collected by the developer. Engagement with the fishing industry via the FLO, fisheries and/or stakeholder manager is recommended for offshore wind developments. This engagement may take the form of questionnaires, meetings/ interviews and/or annotated charts.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify and understand changes in fishing activity, fishing effort and value. Project-specific; and temporal scale will depend on the stakeholder engagement strategy.

Accessibility: Low – data is not publicly accessible. Collection of data via stakeholder engagement can be time, cost and resource intensive. Fishing industry generally shows preference for stakeholder meetings and interviews over questionnaires.

Robustness: Medium – if effective stakeholder engagement is carried across a representative group, this can provide useful local knowledge and anecdotal evidence to identify and understand changes in fishing activity, particularly for 12 m and under vessels where there is a paucity of fisheries data.

Confidence: Low – data is not subject to verification.

Dataset, source and description: Marine Traffic Surveys.

Secondary data collected by the developer. Surveys mainly done by placing AIS responders on local ‘infrastructure,’ such as a survey or construction vessel, offshore platforms or, if the project is near the shore, on land.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes in the distribution of fishing activity. Project-specific; and temporal scale depends on length of study.

Accessibility: Low – data is not publicly accessible and must be maintained by the developer.

Robustness: Over 15 m vessels: Low/Medium – AIS data does not typically provide information on fishing method, and therefore, only provides an indication of fishing vessel presence. This can be overcome if AIS data provides information on the vessels MMSI. This may require complex data processing and may not be applicable for all vessels. Under 15 m vessels: Low – this data does not include 15 m and under vessels.

Confidence: Low – data is not subject to verification.

Dataset, source and description: UK Fishing Vessel Lists.

MMO. Available at: Scottish Government website. Governmental statistics publication, an Excel spreadsheet detailing all registered fishing vessels throughout the UK, with information on administrative port, home port, vessel name, registry number, licence number, membership organisation, overall length, tonnage, engine power, vessel capacity units, year built, hull, country of construction, category, shellfish license and scallop licence.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify the number of vessels registered within the local ports. UK-wide; regular updates added by the government on the vessel statistics.

Accessibility: High – data is freely available on the government website.

Robustness: High – registered fishing vessels of all sizes are included within the lists.

Confidence: High – data is subject to quality checks.

Dataset, source and description: Seafish – Fishing and Seafood Data and Insight.

Seafish. Available at: Seafish website and Seafish website. Seafish collect and analyse employment, landings and economic performance data for the commercial fishing fleets in the UK. Data are collected through face-toface interviews and surveys to gather data on employment, fuel use and capital value indicators, combined with landings data from official data sources (e.g., MMO). Data are presented for defined groups or fleet segments of similar vessels. Seafish also collect annual economic and employment data on the seafood processing sector through surveys.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes in economic output and employment. UK-wide; Updated annually on economic data and every three years for employment data; Can be analysed by groups or fleet segments of similar vessels; and Could be utilised to identify key trends and changes in fishing activities, and potential reduction in fishing efforts.

Accessibility: Medium – data is publicly accessible. This data is not commonly used for EIAs, and therefore, may be unfamiliar to developers and other stakeholders.

Robustness: Low – data is useful to understand changes in the economic performance of fleets at a national level but is not suitable at a scale suitable for understanding project-specific impacts. Surveys would need to directly enquire about offshore wind impacts during interviews to identify a causal relationship

Confidence: High – data is subject to quality checks.

Dataset, source and description: Office for National Statistics (ONS) – The (BRES) data, ONS.

Available at: ONS website. Provides employment breakdown from different sectors across the UK. New data is released every year, so figures are up to date and provide a history of the data. The BRES data provides annual employee and employment estimates for the UK (ONS, 2023). The data is split by either full- or part-time employment and industry group, using Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2007. BRES is the primary source for employee data estimated at a detailed regional and industrial level and includes breakdowns by public and private sector according to the legal status for national accounts classification figures. Due to the large sample size, the results produced from BRES are a goodquality estimate for detailed breakdowns by industry and geography across the UK. The BRES industry data are recommended in preference to other industry data, such as the Annual Population Survey and Labour Force Survey (LFS). The data is released annually in October and therefore, could be used to identify changes in employment rates in different industries throughout past years. The employment figures from the BRES data can be analysed across the commercial fishing industry. The results from analysing the annual data may be able to indicate changes in the industry’s baseline, and therefore, could be used for monitoring.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes in employment. UK-wide; and updated annually.

Accessibility: Medium – data is publicly accessible. This data is less commonly used for EIAs in assessing effects on commercial fisheries, and therefore, may be unfamiliar to developers and other stakeholders.

Robustness: Low – data is useful to understand changes in employment at a regional level but is not suitable at a scale suitable for understanding project-specific impacts.

Confidence: High – data is subject to quality checks.

Dataset, source and description: Scottish Government Statistics, Scottish Government.

Available at: Scottish Government website. Official source for Scotland’s statistics on over 250 datasets related to socio-economic indicators and topics. Incorporates information from other sources including, but not limited to, National Records of Scotland, Public Health Scotland, Revenue Scotland and Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Datasets provide information between 2010 – 2023 in the latest publications, with options to search and assess data by local authority and at a regional level. The dataset also links to the Supply, Use and InputOutput tables. Information is widely used in EIA and socioeconomic impact assessments to inform indicators for local project areas on demographics, population, economic activity, housing and tourism.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify key trends through statistical references on key socio-economic indicators, including transport, public health, social security and heritage. Scotland wide.

Accessibility: High – publicly accessible online, regular use in EIA process.

Robustness: Medium – regular use in EIA for baseline scenario on local authority level impacts and regions, however, lack of direct project-specific impacts that can be tracked over time with specific link to project. Further additional engagement and research required to support.

Confidence: High – data is subject to quality checks, with regular publication and updates.

Dataset, source and description: Marine Economic Statistics.

Scottish Government Available at: Scottish Government website. Publishes annual data on marine sector GVA, employment, and turnover, broken down by categories such as shipbuilding, offshore wind, wider marine energy, fishing, fish landings, aquaculture, seafood processing and water transport and construction services. Most recent 2023 publication showcases annual data up to 2021, and industry sector data is broken down to local authority level.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes in GVA, employment and turnover associated with marine sector in Scotland annually. Scotland wide; Latest Marine Economic Statistics available from 2021.

Accessibility: High – publicly accessible online, regular use in EIA process.

Robustness: Medium – can provide a local authority level data on annual historical trends, however, projectspecific impacts would still be difficult to pinpoint. Additional engagement to understand causes for changes in trends and any incombination impacts would be required.

Confidence: High – data is subject to quality checks, with regular publication and updates.

Dataset, source and description: Sub-Scotland Economic Statistics Database.

Scottish Government Available at: Scottish Government website. Datasets cover economic, business, labour market and population data for Scotland, as well as local authority areas within Scotland. Further information is provided on Travel to Work Areas, Scottish Island Regions and areas around the River Clyde. Data is updated on a regular basis subject to the input dataset sources being updated, thus the timeframe available varies between each dataset, with some available for 2022 – 2023 and others only up to 2021.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes in economic activity such as employment, working age employment rate, unemployment and selfemployment as well as number of businesses registered across Scotland and in individual regions. Scotland wide.

Accessibility: High – publicly accessible online, existing use in EIA process.

Robustness: Low – provides opportunity to assess historical data across key economic activity categories and spatial focus at regional level provides additional granularity, however, limited use in determining project-specific impacts and fishing related economic activity. Requires incombination use with other datasets and additional engagement.

Confidence: High – data is subject to quality checks, with regular publication and updates.

Dataset, source and description: Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics (2022).

Scottish Government. Available at: Scottish Government website. Annual publication, with the latest available for 2022. Provides information on tonnage and value of all landings of fish and shellfish by Scottish vessels, landings into Scotland, the rest of the UK and abroad, and the size and structure of the Scottish fishing fleet, including employment. Provides breakdown of value and changes by sector, including demersal landings, shellfish landings and pelagic landings.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify trends and changes in the tonnage and value, as well as occurrence of landings in Scotland, by fishing category. Scotland wide.

Accessibility: Medium – publicly accessible.

Robustness: Low – difficult to assess at regional and project-specific level. Supplementary data provides detailed overview of the key trends for fishing categories over time, allowing for temporal comparison. However, lack of regional and local data means any linkage to project impacts would be more speculative. Would require addition of more locally based data.

Confidence: High – data is subject to quality checks, with annual publication.

Dataset, source and description: Scottish Annual Business Statistics (SABS) (2020), Scottish Government.

Available at: Scottish Government website. SABS offers estimates of employment, turnover, purchases, GVA and labour costs for businesses operating in Scotland. Data are classified according to the industry sector, location and ownership of the business. Sectors included production and manufacturing, construction and the service sector. Data is available for local authority level areas covering a time span from 2008 until 2020. Provides identification of individual subsector trends, such as production and manufacturing of various goods, engineering, civil construction, wholesale and retail trade.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify overall trends across key sectors in economic activity by year and area. Scotland wide; updated regularly.

Accessibility: High – publicly accessible online, regular use in socio-economic impact assessments.

Robustness: Low – provides opportunity to assess historical data across key industry categories and spatial focus at local authority level offers a necessary granularity for potential project-specific impacts. However, industrial sector categories and tracked economic activity are not always directly applicable to offshore wind specific activities and there is no direct fishing related category to indicate changes in local areas. Requires combination with other datasets but can help establish a baseline of economic activity.

Confidence: High – data is subject to quality check.

Dataset, source and description: SIMD (2020), Scottish Government.

Available at: SIMD website. The Scottish Government’s SIMD focuses on several key areas related to deprivation, including income, employment levels, access to education and health, access to services, crime levels and housing. The data is split into 6,976 small areas and ranked according to levels of deprivation. The index’s approach is spatial, with not every person in a given area potentially being considered as ‘deprived,’ and several distinct levels of deprivation could be identified in a given larger area of assessment.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes to levels and rankings of deprivation in designated areas. Scotland focused; latest updates available from 2020.

Accessibility: High – publicly accessible online, with growing use and consideration in EIAs e.g., Berwick Bank and West of Orkney windfarms.

Robustness: Low – spatial focus offers more granular view on levels of deprivation and associated socio-economic impact factors, however, various levels of deprivation (or wealth) in one given area are difficult to distinguish. Should support additional factors that also consider fishing related industry and employment factors.

Confidence: High – data subject to quality checks and updates.

Dataset, source and description: Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables, Scottish Government.

Available at: Scottish Government website. Input-Output tables are applied for economic impact calculations by deriving GVA and FTE from the offshore wind project expenditure using the multiplier factors from the relevant SIC code category. They can further be employed to establish similar impacts from the fishing industry and any associated changes resulting from an increase or decrease in expenditure and associated economic activity. Input-Output figures are derived from their associated Supply and Use tables, capturing the output provided by a defined industrial category.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To monitor and assess economic activity by industry/supply chain category and calculate GVA, FTE impacts. Scotland wide; and latest issue is 2020.

Accessibility: High – publicly available and widely used for EIA scopes to assess socio-economic impacts of developments.

Robustness: Low – data continues to serve as a baseline for GVA and FTE calculations from both fishing and project-specific impacts. However, multiplier, salary or product related figures do not offer a like for like comparison with offshore wind related components, meaning inherent assumptions may not adequately reflect the value added from projects.

Confidence: High – data subject to quality checks and updates.

Dataset, source and description: Nomis Official Labour Market Statistics (ONS), ONS.

Available at: Nomis website. Nomis provides overall labour market statistics based, in part, on census data by region and local authority/postcode level. Data focuses on employment by various occupations, reasons for economic inactivity, estimates of unemployment, household-based data, migration and nationality. Further includes access to annual population and labour survey, with regional and local area breakdown.

Use in monitoring, spatial and temporal scale: To identify changes and current baseline status in economic activity, employment, and household-related data. UK-wide, providing further regional and local authority profile level information.

Accessibility: High – publicly available and used for recent EIA scopes.

Robustness: Medium – spatial granularity can enable project-specific baseline socio-economic data assessment and identify key areas of impact monitoring. However, there is continued difficulty in establishing causal relationships between project-specific impact pathways and fishing industry or individual economic community.

Confidence: High – data subject to quality checks, based on ONS and census data.

B.6.3 Key Data Gaps

A number of qualitative and quantitative datasets have been identified in this review that could be suitable for commercial fisheries monitoring, as summarised in Section B.6.2. There are inherent limitations to each of these datasets, so it is important that a mixed-method approach (i.e., triangulation of data) is adopted for monitoring to allow for cross-verification of the datasets (Gray et al., 2016; Bennett et al., 2021; Scottish Government, 2022a). A similar approach is already taken in the characterisation of the commercial fisheries baseline as part of an EIA for OWF consent applications. Within the context of socio-economic datasets, understanding the link (and any causal relationships between increased offshore wind activity and associated workforce or economic activity in a given area) and any changes in fishing-related economic outputs would likely require additional stakeholder and community engagement, as well as a specifically adapted monitoring approach. For both commercial fisheries datasets and socio-economic datasets, the individual datasets are limited in their granularity, and it is hard to directly distinguish project-specific impacts and the potential compounding effects of inter-related impacts.

The key data gaps in the monitoring datasets include paucity of:

• Information on fishing activity for vessels 12 m and under that are not required to be fitted with VMS or AIS;
• Suitable datasets to monitor fishing activity at a project-scale; and
• The difficulty of establishing the link between impacts from OWFs and other factors impacting the commercial fishing sector (such as Brexit).

B.7 Discussion and Conclusion

This Dataset Analysis Report has outlined and reviewed relevant datasets that are, or could be, used to monitor the commercial fishing industry in relation to offshore wind developments in the UK, with a specific focus on Scotland. Datasets from EIA baselines, FMMS monitoring requirements, PEMP monitoring suggestions, socio-economic monitoring approaches applied to OWFs and MPAs, and future monitoring proposals were summarised alongside datasets used within peer-reviewed literature and other relevant marine projects.

Fourteen OWF EIAs from all stages of project development (post application, pre-construction, construction and post construction) were reviewed to identify their baseline commercial fisheries datasets and monitoring commitments. The most commonly used datasets to develop OWF EIA baselines were landing statistics, fishing effort data, VMS data, AIS data, ScotMap, fisheries surveillance sightings and data collected from engagement with local fishers and their representatives. Post-construction monitoring was only proposed within two of the 14 EIAs, Moray East and West of Orkney. Both OWFs proposed monitoring through engagement with the fishing industry. From the reviewed EIAs, it was clear that nearly all OWF developers used similar, publicly available datasets to develop their EIA baselines, supplemented with project-specific data collected via the FLO or guard vessels. However, it appears that not all of the available datasets were analysed to their full potential when developing these EIA baselines.

FMMSs, FCLPs and PEMPs were researched to identify commitments made by OWF developers in monitoring the effects of an OWF project on the fishing industry. None of the FMMSs or FCLPs reviewed incorporated details on monitoring of commercial fisheries impacts in relation to the project. Only Neart na Gaoithe and Moray West committed to fisheries monitoring within their PEMP; both proposed a desk-based study through reviewing landings data, VMS data, Marine Traffic Surveys, MCC records and OFLO, CFLO and guard vessel records. In addition to the aforementioned, Moray West also proposed fisheries observation studies for monitoring. Even though both developers proposed similar datasets to monitor impacts on the commercial fishing industry, there is no evidence of a consistent or streamlined monitoring or reporting approach to commercial fishing in relation to OWFs. It is recommended that a standardised approach to dataset use, and analysis be developed when assessing the potential impacts of OWFs on commercial fisheries.

Furthermore, a review of OWF specific SEIA guidance and documentation was undertaken to identify datasets that could be used to understand the socio-economic impacts of OWFs on the commercial fishing industry. Identified datasets included survey and interview data, landings data, VMS data, surveillance data, UK fishing vessel lists, Seafish economic performance data, Succorfish database, ICES stock assessment reports, scientific and grey literature, government economic/business statistics, labour market information and European annual economic reports. The identified spatial datasets were similar to those currently used to create commercial fisheries baselines within OWF EIAs (landings data, VMS, surveillance data), whereas socio-economic indicator datasets were not commonly used by developers to assess OWF impacts on the commercial fishing industry. The guidance available to assess socio-economic impacts from MPAs on the commercial fishing industry (Scottish Government, 2022a) provides some insight into how socio-economic data and impacts from OWFs on commercial fisheries could be used and assessed. Furthermore, peer-reviewed literature recommended how to assess socio-economic impacts on the commercial fishing industry.

The SIFIDS Project researched new techniques of monitoring the commercial fishing industry, through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, sensors transmitting positional data, (drop-down) cameras, mobile phone apps, observers on vessels and GPS. Whilst the outcomes of this project seemed successful, there is no evidence this project was successfully followed up. Whilst any of these new techniques could be useful tools to monitor the commercial fishing industry, most, if not all, of these techniques would have to be installed on fishing vessels. Due to the confidentiality of fishing grounds, impacted fishers may not be willing to install non-mandatory equipment on their vessels to monitor their activity.

The most frequently named and relevant datasets were assessed for further consideration in this report; these datasets were reviewed on their spatial and temporal scale, accessibility, robustness, and confidence. The review showed that there is no one specific dataset that can monitor the commercial fishing industry and/or the potential socio-economic impacts on the commercial fishing industry, as all assessed datasets had associated data gaps and various levels of data scale/resolution, timeframes and metadata attached, making it challenging to compare or combine across OWF projects and areas. Furthermore, not all datasets could be easily accessed due to the requirement of FOI requests, paywalls and/or confidentiality. Finally, commercial fisheries datasets and socio-economic datasets do not have a central, accessible storage platform, and the datasets reviewed varied between devolved administrations making access and comparison of datasets difficult.

It is clear that the suitability of datasets in relation to monitoring commercial fisheries impacts from OWFs varied depending on the fisheries of interest. The robustness of monitoring data for larger vessels over 12 m was higher due to the requirement for VMS, and even higher for vessels over 15 m that also require AIS. For smaller inshore vessels, there was a paucity of suitable datasets to monitor fishing activity, although this could be overcome in the future if iVMS requirements are enforced for vessels 12 m and under. Similarly, the robustness of the socio-economic datasets was generally medium or below, as information is usually published at a local authority level, or higher. This regional level data may not be detailed enough for project-specific assessments. Considering these findings, it is recommended that project-specific data collection should also be performed to ensure all potential impacts are identified. Ideally project-specific data collection would be shared between OWF developers, recognising legal agreements may be required to implement this due to project confidentiality. Consistency of outputs, data sharing and collaboration between developers could ensure a more detailed, wider understanding of the potential impacts at a regional level.

In conclusion, it is recommended that a combination of quantitative and qualitative datasets should be used to monitor commercial fishing activity, to enable cross-verification of data. The monitoring data and approach to analysis may differ depending on the type of fisheries present and any proposed methodology should be presented at an early stage of OWF development i.e., the EIA Scoping and/or development consent application stage, to enable early and meaningful feedback from stakeholders. However, it is expected that all the datasets considered within Section B.6.2 could potentially be utilised for monitoring purposes across all stages of OWF development to:

• Understand historic fishing patterns (ScotMap, gridded fisheries data within Scottish waters, creel fishing effort study) and/or to identify changes in fishing effort and value by fishing method and by target species (landings data, surveillance sightings, VMS, AIS, future iVMS);
• Encourage implementation of successful monitoring equipment currently not used for monitoring the commercial fishing industry (SIFIDs);
• Further understand changes in fishing activity, in particular for vessels 12 m and under, and to investigate any potential knock-on socio-economic impacts from any changes (stakeholder engagement data, MCC records, OFLO/guard vessel data, Marine Traffic Surveys, Seafish); and
• Understand socio-economic changes that could be associated with OWFs, using the following databases to inform this: Seafish, BRES, Scottish Government Statistics, UK Vessel Lists, Marine Economic Statistics, Sub-Scotland Economic Statistics Database, Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics, SABS, SIMD, Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables, and Nomis Official Labour Market Statistics.

Depending on the level of detail required for the monitoring, it may not be necessary to examine all of the above identified datasets to develop a baseline understanding of the commercial fishing industry in relation to an OWF project, including then considering potential socio-economic effects.

B.8 References

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Gray, M., Stromberg, P.L., Rodmell, D (2016). ‘Changes to fishing practices around the UK as a result of the development of offshore windfarms – Phase 1 (Revised).’ The Crown Estate, 121 pages. ISBN: 978-1-906410-64-3.

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