2007, CMACS, Burbo Bank, Commercial Fish Survey

The FEPA requirement for fish monitoring is partly met through annual 4m beam trawls. The spring 2007 survey was the second annual commercial fish survey. As with the baseline survey in 2006 it was undertaken in May. This was after the majority of wind farm infrastructure had been installed but before power generation commenced. Relatively high number of fish were caught in 2007, including at sites in close proximity to the wind farm. The composition of catches was similar, for example dab was a dominant species in both 2006 and 2007, but significant numbers of a range of other species including rays and flatfish were captured in 2007 that were not recorded in 2006. No specific conclusions are yet drawn as this will be a focus of the 2008 survey report.