Using fisheries-dependent data to investigate landings of European lobster (Homarus gammarus) within an offshore wind farm

Abstract

The need for alternative strategies to assist in the monitoring and sustainable management of fisheries’ resources is becoming increasingly important. In recent years, greater utilization of fishers’ knowledge has been advocated as a potentially valuable source of data that could be applied to fisheries management issues. In the current study, we addressed this by investigating the landing per unit effort (LPUE) of European lobster (Homarus gammarus) from within an offshore wind farm using a fisheries-dependent commercial fishing logbook. The logbook was provided by a single fisherman who targeted lobsters within the wind farm between 2015 and 2022 using single pots deployed in association with individual wind turbines. Generalized linear mixed modeling was used to investigate changes in LPUE over temporal scales and as the result of the presence of scour protection at turbine locations. LPUE was found to be significantly higher at turbine locations where scour protection was present compared to those turbines where it was not. Predictions from modeling suggested LPUE was nearly 1.5× greater at turbines where scour protection was present. Significant differences in mean monthly and yearly LPUE were detected with this variation likely to reflect seasonal changes in lobster activity and the effect of introducing fishing into a previously unfished area. This work highlights the potential for fishing logbooks to be applied in fisheries management. Our results also demonstrate potential fishing opportunities arising from the development of offshore wind farms and the potential for these opportunities to be enhanced.