UK Fishermen Concerned over OWF Impact on Lobster

As fishermen in East Yorkshire are preparing to go back fishing at Westermost Rough after a two-year ban due to the offshore wind farm construction, they are worried about the quantity of lobster they will find within the area.

The area alone used to provide 15% of the annual lobster catch in the UK and the quantity is expected to have increased, since  However, fishermen are wondering whether there will be the same, or any, amount of lobster to catch this year. “The questions we are asking are: can we safely fish among the turbines and is there anything left to catch?” The Guardian quotes Mike Cohen, chief executive of the Holderness Fishing Industry Group, as saying.

Fishermen worry about lobster beds that could be buried underneath the sediment from cable-laying and other consequences related to the offshore wind farm operation. In addition, they pointed out that there could be some navigation issues caused by the turbines.

Dong Energy has been working with Holderness Fishing Industry Group to assess offshore wind farm effects on fish in the North Sea. The company’s spokesperson said: “An offshore wind farm can be operational for around 25 years, so the key to success with a project like Westermost Rough is based on cooperation and building a sustainable relationship with the entire community.”

Image: Dong Energy (Illustration)