Baseline study Fish, fry and commercial fishery Nysted Offshore ...

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whose catch were registered tin 1997 to 1999 claimed they were still fishing in the area
but refused to take part of the investigation in 2000 and 2001, and are therefore not
registered from 2000 and 2001. Du to declining catch one fisherman from Gedser
stopped in 1999 and another only reported his catch form 2000.
The number of trawl fishermen operating in the mill area and reference area were
reduced from 3 fishermen in 1997-1999 to 2 fishermen i year 2000 and 2001.
The fishermen agreed that the area is good for fishing and that the food chain includes
sandeel and shrimp, which are eaten particularly by cod and turbot.
Appendix 9.4. show the parts of the wind farm and the reference area that are fished by
trawling and with nets. The boundaries should be taken as rough sketches of the fishing
grounds of the individual fishermen.
Effectively, the whole area south of Rødsand is fished with cod and turbot nets (see
appendix 9.4.). Fishing takes place in both the wind farm area and the reference area.
Gill netters 1 and 5 are based in the same harbour and report that they fish the same
areas. The same is true for gill net fishermen 2, 3 and 4.
Below the 9–10 metre bathymetric contour south of Rødsand, trawling takes place,
mainly for cod. Seasons for the commercially important species and other information
gathered from the fishermen, including the reason for the season.
Fishing is impeded in the summer by filamentous annual algal species (Ectocarpus spp.
and Pilayella spp). In the deeper waters, fishing is also impeded in summer by the
presence of crabs. The severe south-western and western storms make fishing difficult
in the winter.
The fishermen say that sandeels bury themselves in the sand in the evening and come up
again in the morning, when they are prey for cod and turbot in particular. “If the sun
shines early in the spring so the sandeels come out, there are lots of cod and turbot.”
According to the fishermen, there is roe in the cod from March until June. The roe starts
being released by the cod in April. There is no closed season for cod fishing (see
appendix 9.7.), but cod quotas apply.
Three trawl fisherman have been working at Rødsand from 1997 to 2001. They fish
from April to June and from September to November (see appendix 9.5). It is said that
“the area along the southern part of Rødsand below the 9–10 metre zone offers good
fishing for trawling, especially in warm weather, as the cod gather over the stones there.
As it becomes colder, they move out into deeper water.”
Pound net fishing is done in September, October and November (see appendix 9.5),
mainly for silver eel, which command a high price.
The gill net fishery for cod takes place from December to May (see appendix 9.5). A
single fisherman catches cod at Rødsand all year round, but the cod in general is mainly
caught during winter and spring.
SEAS. Baseline study – Fish, fry and commercial fishery Dok. nr. 2148-03-001-rev3 2P.doc