UK MESH Workshop Local Perspective, Sea Fisheries & European Marine Site David McCandless North Eastern Sea Fisheries Committee

Fleet Structure licensed shellfish vessels 54 demersal whitefish trawlers 135 active unlicensed vessels Annual landings 13,000 tonnes, £16 million

Protected Marine Areas

Ecological Assessment Prohibited Trawling Areas  IECS appointed to undertake study June 2005  Three core objectives:- Map principle seabed habitats in each area Compare & contrast seabed communities Compare & contrast mobile fish assemblages  Main survey techniques:- single/multi beam AGDS limited side scan sonar Video characterisation/ quantitative sampling Fish video survey  Outputs displayed GIS  Final report end January 2007

Study Outputs - Whitby

Study Outputs - Filey

Study Outputs - Holderness

Video Characterisation - Outputs

Case Study - Flamborough Head SAC

Trawling Activities  Committee advised 2005 of need to assess impacts  ECJ ruling on fishing activities  Draft appropriate assessment completed June 2006  Broad agreement on management solution:- Trawling capped on a historical basis Permanent closure within 0.5 NM of coast Prohibition on beam & multi rigged trawls Implementation of a three-year monitoring programme

Digitised Fishing Records 2004

Summary  Seabed mapping work to continue at Flamborough  Eventually rolled out to cover entire District  Data used in conjunction with digitised fishing activity records  Improved ability to undertake both fisheries & environmental management  Adding to national pool of digitised knowledge