A Study to Investigate the Potential Ecological Impacts of Pulse Trawling - 2018/19 - Fisheries Science Partnership

This work was carried out as part of the Fisheries Science Partnership (FSP) programme which is a Defra funded collaborative programme of scientific research between the UK Fishing Industry and scientists. This programme was introduced in 2003 to build relationships between UK fishermen and scientists and to involve fishermen in the co-commissioning of science. The primary objective of this project was to conduct a survey to assess the effects of pulse trawling off the English east coast, near to the Port of Ramsgate. The fleet of large, predominantly Dutch, beam trawlers has adopted novel pulse trawl technology in recent years. The fishing grounds beyond 12 nautical miles off Ramsgate have been identified as a hotspot for pulse trawling with the local inshore fishermen reporting observations of a detrimental effect to their fishing grounds, including a perceived reduction in the common sole (Solea solea) catches in the area, this perceived reduction in catch is not addressed in this report.