www.jncc.gov.uk/marineconsult

Marine Natura in UK

2009 offshore SAC consultation

Charlotte Johnston,

Tom Blasdale, Sophie Elliott, JNCCNorth Sea RAC Spatial Planning Working Group, 16th Feb 2009

16/02/09

UK offshore site consultations

Two draft offshore SACs for public consultation starting in early 2009

Map version number 2.0 (6/11/08)Site map projected in British National Grid. The exact limits of the UK Continental Shelf are set out in orders made under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 (© Crown Copyright). World Vector Shoreline © US Defense Mapping Agency. Map copyright JNCC 2008.

¯0 150 30075 Km

Sites:1. Dogger Bank2. North West Rockall

Legend

Draft Offshore SAC

Land

UK Continental Shelf Limit

UK Territorial Seas

Isle of Man Designated Area

British Fishery Limits

1.

2.

Oct-Dec Pre-consultation meetings with competent

2008 authorities and key stakeholder groups

3 months Formal consultation period (start pending

Government approval)

2 months Analysis of consultation submissions and report to UK Government

2 months Sites submitted to European Commission

2008-09 consultation timetable

Offshore site consultations

Site documents for each possible site have been available since December 2008:• scientific justification for identifying the site• draft conservation objectives and advice on operations• consultation impact assessments available early 2009

Consultation period: 12 weeks

JNCC then compile submissions and provide a summary report

JNCC use the comments/results on the scientific justification for the site from consultation to modify site proposals if appropriate and report to Government

Government decide to submit site(s) to European Commission

2008-09 Consultation: Dogger Bank dSAC

Draft

Sandbanks slightly covered by seawater all the time;Harbour porpoise

Dogger Bank: slope analysis

Dogger Bank: infaunal communities

UK Dogger Bank: Adjacent European sites

IAs - Impact Assessments

Government guidelines require an Impact Assessment for all policy changes (previously a Regulatory Impact Assessment or RIA)

Impact Assessments examine the likely economic impacts of a policy change and the range of options for implementing it

IAs - Impact Assessments

JNCC is preparing impact assessments for each site using contractors

Based on likely maximum and minimum management scenarios following JNCC’s draft Conservation Objectives and Advice on Operations for each site

Site-based Impact Assessments will be consulted on at the same time as the scientific justification for selection of the site.

Impact assessments will be updated following the consultation incorporating information from all responding stakeholders

Information needed from stakeholders

Information on what activities undertaken, their current and potential worth

Information on likely additional costs incurred by industry if the site is designated

Initial information to JNCC’s contractors during Nov-Dec 08 for inclusion in the Impact Assessment for consultation

Comment and further input through 12 week formal site consultation

Knowledge of current activities

Oil & gas installations

Knowledge of current activities

Aggregate extraction licence areas

Knowledge of current activities

Cables & pipelines

Knowledge of current activities

Potential windfarm licence areas

Knowledge of current activities

VMS data, demersal fisheries, all member states (2004)

ICES Rectangles at Dogger Bank

Types of fishing on Dogger BankTable A3.1: Percentage of reported landings from in and around the draft SAC by fishing gear type

Vessel type ICES Rectangles Wholly or Mainly In Site Boundary

Bordering ICES (Rectangles wholly or mainly out ( waters

only)

ICES Rectangle 39F1, half in, half out of the site boundary

Beam trawls 81% 55% 44%

Danish seines 8% 4% 2%

Otter trawls(not specified) 4% 11% 6%

Otter trawls - bottom 2% 6% 8%

Scottish seines 1% 1% 6%

Longlines (not specified) 1% 0% 3%

Otter twin trawls 0% 5% 2%

Nephrops trawls 0% 8% 5%

Pair trawls - bottom 0% 2% 23%*

Set gillnets (anchored) 0% 1% 0%

Pots 0% 6% 0%

Otter trawls - midwater 0% 1% 1%

TOTAL 100% 100% 100%

Includes vessels of all nationalities as reported in landings data from July 2000 to June 2008 provided by the Marine Fisheries Agency.

Landings by country for Dogger Bank

Table A3.2: Percentage of reported landings from in and around the Dogger Bank draft SAC by country of port

Country of port ICES Rectangles Wholly or Mainly In Site Boundary

Bordering ICES (Rectangles wholly or mainly out

( waters only)

ICES Rectangle 39F1, half in, half out of the site boundary

Netherlands 84% 56% 42%

UK 15% 43% 52%

Denmark 1% 1% 3%

Belgium 0% 0% 0%

Faroe Islands 0% 0% 0%

Norway 0% 0% 3%

TOTAL 100% 100% 100%

Includes vessels of all nationalities as reported in landings data from July 2000 to June 2008 provided by the Marine Fisheries Agency.

Species caught at Dogger Bank

Table A3.3: Percentage of reported landings by weight from in and around the draft SAC by species caught

Species ICES Rectangles Wholly or Mainly In Site

Boundary

Bordering ICES Rectangles (wholly or mainly out - waters

only)

ICES Rectangle 39F1, half in, half out of the site

boundary

Plaice 68% 40% 34%Lemon Sole 8% 5% 10%Sole 7% 11% 2%Turbot 6% 5% 3%Dabs 4% 1% 2%Cod 1% 5% 3%Monks or Anglers 1% 1% 2%Spurdog 1% 1% 4%Haddock 1% 2% 18%Brill 1% 1% 1%Whelks 1% 0% 0%

Nephrops ( Lobster) 0% 17% 8%Sand Eels 0% 0% 6%Squid 0% 0% 3%Red Mullet 0% 0% 2%Whiting 0% 0% 1%Crabs (C.P. Mixed Sexes) 0% 2% 0%Skates and Rays 0% 1% 0%Gurnards - Red 0% 0% 1%Lobsters 0% 3% 0%TOTAL 100% 100% 100%

Includes vessels of all nationalities as reported in landings data from July 2000 to June 2008 provided by the Marine Fisheries Agency.

Information sought for Impact Assessment

•Identification of the number and types of vessel businesses that fish at Dogger Bank, including home port and fishing days within the SAC;

•How changes in landings at foreign ports might impact the UK economy;

•Views on how fishermen will respond to any potential closure;

•Where activity is displaced, difference in steam time, fuel costs, fishing levels and any other cost/profit information associated with displacement alternatives;

•Costs to not fish if site was designated and there were no suitable alternative sites such that site designation made some vessels unprofitable;

•Potential seasonal effects of designation;

•Any other data that would improve comparison of costs, earnings and profits for vessel businesses under the different scenarios; and

•Other sites for plaice catch, as well as level of catch at those sites and their sensitivity and importance for overall plaice stocks

UK SAC network

Further areas of search to be assessed for selection as SACs for habitats

Seabed habitat derived from BGS 1:250,000 seabed sediment maps © NERC and SeaZone bathymetry © British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited. All rights reserved. Products Licence No. PGA042006.003. The exact limits of the UK Continental Shelf are set out in orders made under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 (© Crown Copyright). World Vector Shoreline © US Defense Mapping Agency. Map copyright JNCC 2008. IS 6/11/2008

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8

6

9

71

2

5

3

4

0 140 28070 km

Offshore cSACs 1 Darwin Mounds 2 Stanton Banks 3 Braemar pockmarks 4 Scanner pockmark 5 Haig Fras Offshore pSACs 6 N. Norfolk sandbanks & Saturn reef 7 Wyville Thomson RidgeOffshore dSAC 8 Dogger Bank 9 North West Rockall

Date published 6.11.08

^ Areas of Search under consideration

Offshore SACs

cSAC

pSAC

dSAC

Isle of Man Territorial seas limit

UK Continental Shelf limit

UK Territorial seas limit

Potential reef type

Bedrock, Stony and Biogenic

Bedrock

Stony

Biogenic

Sandy sediment in <20m water depth

Sandy sediment in <50m water depth

Land

Summary

Two UK possible offshore SACs (Dogger Bank & NW Rockall Bank) will be consulted upon early 2009

Consultation on the scientific justification for proposing the sites as SACs, plus likely socio-economic impact of site designation

Information on socio-economic impact of designation requested now and during the public consultation

Nine marine SACs off England (inshore and offshore) likely to be consulted upon in late 2009-10

JNCC are undertaking survey to complete the offshore Natura 2000 network

We aim to make the process as open and inclusive as possible…

Further information

All the information for the consultation will be available on the JNCC website:www.jncc.gov.uk/marineconsult

The UK Offshore Marine Conservation Regulations:www.defra.gov.uk/marine/biodiversity/omcr.htmwww.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/20071842.htm

To contact us about SACs:• email: offshoresacs@jncc.gov.uk The consultation process - including registering your interest in taking part - email: offshoreconsult@jncc.gov.uk