Hollandse Kust Zuid at sunset. Video: WUR.
The Netherlands is building ever more wind farms in the North Sea, even in locations that were formerly designated as fishing areas. As a result, the area available to fishers is continuously shrinking. Wageningen University & Research is investigating potential opportunities for fishing activities between the windmills using hand lines or gill nets.
The North Sea is ideal for wind energy. The winds in this area are frequent and strong, and the waters aren’t too deep. The Netherlands aims to capitalise upon these benefits by building nine new wind farms in addition to the four existing ones. There will be 1700 wind turbines by 2030 which, combined, will provide an annual 90 TWh of energy, or 90 trillion watt-hour. All those windmills will take up about 4.5% of the Dutch North Sea. This may not seem like a lot, but it might mean that areas that have been used for fishing activities for generations will be reassigned for energy production. However, energy production does not necessarily have to interfere with all forms of fishing. As opposed to the old ones, the new wind farms have enough space between the turbines for ships. Would it be possible to fish in these areas? That is the exact question the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature asked Wageningen Marine Research to investigate. Sophie Neitzel, researcher at Marine Resource Management, led this research and collaborated with researchers from Wageningen Economic Research (WECR) and Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN). ‘We wanted to know: can fishing be done safely and in an economically feasible manner?’
'Can passive fishing be done in an economically feasible manner?'
Wind farm Hollandse Kust Zuid. Photo: WUR
A season aboard
‘For this study, we specifically considered passive fishing,’ Neitzel explains. ‘These are fishing techniques in which the fish come to the fishing equipment instead of the other way around. In active fishing, nets are dragged towards the fish.’ The researchers enlisted the help of fishers to set up the study. We asked them: which fishing techniques are relevant for the sector?’ The researchers tested four types of fishing equipment on three ships belonging to fishers from the focus group. ‘Hand line: this is quite similar to fishing with a rod. Traps: these are setups that fish, crabs or lobsters can enter, but not leave. Another approach is Jigging: a method in which mechanical arms continuously move a line with hooks or bait to lure fish. Finally, there are gill nets: long, low nets kept in place with anchors and floats that catch fish as they swim into them.’
Stefan Tijsen is one of nine fishers who cooperated with a study into het possibilities of passive fishing in wind farms. Sophie Neitzel, researcher at Wageningen Marine Research and Noor Visser, Policy Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature joined him on the North Sea. Is it possible to make fishing between windmills safe, ecologically responsible and profitable?
Armed with this equipment, the researchers and fishers spent a season gathering data in the Borssele I and II wind farms, off the coast of Zeeland. Can they draw any tentative conclusions, yet? ‘Safe fishery between the windmills is definitely possible,’ Neitzel says. ‘But we believe quite a lot of change is needed before this can be incorporated into existing business models.’
Minimal risks for ships and turbines
The ships used for passive fishery aren’t particularly large, with a maximum length of 45 metres. ‘That means they can easily navigate between the windmills,’ Neitzel explains. ‘However, the wind farms are farther from shore than these ships usually operate, and the high waves in the North Sea can sometimes make sailing impossible. This means they may be confronted with more severe waves. Borssele is about 23km away from the shore, where passive fishery usually takes place. The distance also leads to longer travel times and higher fuel costs.’
The risks proved less severe in practice than initially anticipated. ‘There is sufficient space between the turbines for boats to deal with waves. The nets and pots stay in place even in severe weather. Big waves generally mean fishers don’t sail out in the first place.’ Neitzel and her colleagues are also looked into the dangers to the windmills themselves. ‘To tackle this issue, the government has already established a so-called area passport with maintenance zones. This passport stipulates that ships should stay 250 metres away from the turbines.’ Windmill administrators also worried about problems with the cables on the seafloor in relation to the anchors and fishing gear. Neitzel and her colleagues are currently conducting further research into this issue using underwater cameras aimed at the anchors of the gill nets. ‘Thus far, we have seen no impact on the sea floor.’
'All those windmills will take up about 4.5% of the Dutch North Sea'
Shrimp trawler on its way to the Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm. Photo: WUR
Restrictions and regulations
From an economic point of view, there are still some issues to iron out when it comes to passive fishery in wind farms. ‘The catch was rather disappointing. The fishers caught quite little, especially when it came to the most profitable fish species,’ Neitzel says. ‘It takes significant time to travel between the harbour and the wind farm, and the fishers aren’t allowed to spend the night between the turbines to increase the profitability of their voyage. Moreover, they need to go through a communication protocol before they sail in order to coordinate their voyage with the coast guard, the wind farm owner and Rijkswaterstaat. This means they cannot quickly make a last-minute decision to deploy an extra net, for instance.’ On top of that, the ships are only allowed to sail out with a single type of fishing gear. ‘This means fishers cannot make the most of their time at sea by using a hand line while retrieving traps, for instance. This is the result of regulations regarding the type of equipment that can be used to catch a certain type of fish. There are concerns that fishers will cheat by catching sea bass using the wrong equipment, for example.’ This does not present a particularly attractive proposition for the fishing sector. ‘Based on our research, we recommend significant policy innovations,’ the researcher says.
Fisherman Daniel Zoeteweij on his trawler YE152 preparing the gear en route to the Borssele wind farm. Photo: WUR
'If the fishers are given enough freedom to operate, a revenue model can be developed'
Fisherman Stefan Tijsen on his trawler WR147 sorting catches together with researchers in the Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm. Photo: WUR
A real revenue model
‘We believe the area passport is key. This is essentially the permission for fishing access to a wind farm. We see opportunities for a small group of fishers, who could potentially fish for sole and lobsters if they were allowed to set up their fishing equipment closer to the turbines,’ Neitzel says. ‘This will also require the fishing sector to optimise certain types of equipment, engage in further innovation and develop new techniques. During our study, the currently used traps mostly caught crab, partly because the fishers couldn’t always easily return to sea to check and empty the traps in time. If the area passport were to allow night-time fishing, the combination with existing fishing practices would be easier.’ The researchers also compared the Dutch situation to that of the United Kingdom and the United States, for example. ‘In the Netherlands, the fishing sector, nature and energy are rather strictly separated, meaning each of these sectors falls under its own set of laws and regulations. In England and America, things are different. Here, fishing boats can be used to perform maintenance on windmills, or they assist in the construction of wind farms.’ The new wind farms are a step towards shared use. ‘In these new wind farms, there might be room for energy, new species and fishing activities. That is, if the fishers are given enough freedom to operate and a revenue model can be developed.’ During the interview, Neitzel is called by her skipper. ‘We’re sailing out again today,’ she says. Not only has the study been extended, but it now also encompasses the Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm. ‘To yield an even more thorough picture. There’s a lot more to study, but first, we need a proper foundation for a sustainable fishery.’
En route to the Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm with the WR147. Photo: WUR
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