aFishing boats sail quietly out of Newlyn harbor, the skies are clear and the seas are as flat as millponds. Under the surface, the clear water is teeming with life. Newlyn, in south-west Cornwall, is home to one of Britain’s largest trawl fleets, with over 100 boats regularly landing catch. But miles out to sea, a storm is brewing.
Boat fishing grounds could be squeezed by planned floating wind farms in the Atlantic Celtic Sea bordering Cornwall, southwest Wales, southern Ireland and the northwestern tip of France. In July, The Crown Estate, the Queen’s property manager and owner of the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, announced that her five sites in the Celtic Sea will grow to 4 gigawatts of wind power by 2035. Announced that it can host an offshore facility that can supply energy. Up to 300 turbines will power approximately 4 million homes and generate income for the royal family and the Treasury.
Last year’s auction of other parcels off the coast of England and Wales saw unprecedented interest from energy companies, with bids hitting record levels and the royal estate set to receive up to £9bn over the next decade. became. These zones are expected to house six new wind farms and generate enough electricity to power seven million homes, a vital step in driving the decarbonization of the UK electricity system. It may become.
The plan is being talked about in the port of Newlyn, facing fears of a shrinking UK domestic fishery.
In the chilly halls of the town’s seafood market, fishermen such as Chris Nowell arrive throughout the day with boxes of pole-and-line perch and pollock, carrying silver catch. More than 50 species pass through the market, from megrims (also known as ‘Cornish sole’) and gurnards to mackerel and rays. Worth around £20m a year, it goes to local tables and restaurants in the UK and abroad.
The market is run by Paul Trevilcock, managing director of W Stevenson & Sons, which has been catching fish from Newlyn for over 100 years. “Anxiety” is his main feeling about the wind farm proposal, he said from his market office.
In recent decades, fishermen have seen a proliferation of off-limits areas, including marine reserves, power cabling sites, and oil and gas facilities. While many are bitter about not reaping the promised Brexit benefits, fishermen say they are facing ‘space pressure’ as more vessels compete for catch in increasingly smaller areas. said to be facing
“When you layer these things on top of each other, it gets pretty scary,” says Trebilcock. “If you try to catch fish in the sea and the waters you go to are taken away one after another, you’re likely to be torn apart and die.”
Trevilcock and other Newlyn fishermen have trouble pointing out that they are not against offshore wind power, but feel they are “bottom of the list” in decisions about the use of British waters.
Stevenson employs about 40 people on land at Newlyn and another 50 at sea, but warnings about the effects of offshore winds are serious.
“The few survey areas covered are sufficient to consider the viability of several boats,” says Trebilcock. “The north coast of Cornwall is a valuable Dover only fishery and some of the areas being surveyed effectively leave it out of the equation. The results are devastating for our fleet. may become.”
Trebilkok’s concerns are also shared by skipper and 18.5m Ajax owner James Choung. He checks the nets and packs fuel and ice before heading back to sea.
The Ajax is one of Newlyn’s larger ships, and Chown (known as “Chunky” for being 50 years old) and his five-strong crew usually go to sea every other week to hunt hake and walleye. are hunting Since he can travel up to 50 miles or more from shore, he is likely to be hit hardest at the proposed wind farm site.
Celtic Sea turbines are located in deep water, so they are installed on concrete and steel floating platforms anchored to the sea bed by cables.
“Fisheries generally adapt as needed,” Choong said. A tattoo depicting a sailing ship, the coat of arms of his hometown of Padstow, and the Cornish and British flag visible under his shirt sleeve. “But my concern is that we can only adapt if we have room to adapt.”
According to the crew, more pressure on the fishing grounds would result in more displacement, with boats moving to areas where others regularly fish, including British crews and ships from France, Belgium and Spain. is pushed.
“We are certainly not against renewable energy,” says Chris Lanford, chief executive of the Cornish Fish Producers Association, which represents boat owners. They just want to be recognized for their role in powering Britain for centuries, but also to have a say in where the offshore wind farms are located.
“We understand our priorities,” added Ranford. “What we are looking for is a coexistence strategy that recognizes food security as much as energy security.”
Cornish fishermen have complained about not being early on in the Crown Estate’s process of identifying potential wind lift areas.
“We found out about this in mid-July, along with other members of the public,” says Ranford. did not.”
Development may not stop there. Crown Estate says its research shows the Celtic Sea has the potential for up to 20GW of additional offshore wind capacity by 2045.
Fisheries groups complain that fishing is not considered a “hard constraint” when deciding where to locate wind farms. Crown Estate disputed this, saying it was committed to working with stakeholders, including fisheries, in developing its proposal. The data were given “the highest possible weighting,” he said.
Hoov den Loeigen, Managing Director of Marine at Crown Estate, said: It’s a fishery cooperative. But the estate needs to “balance competing needs for subsea space,” he said, adding, “We will continue to engage with the fishing sector to better understand their activities.” .
The domestic fishery, which accounts for less than 1% of the UK’s national economic output, is part of the lifeblood of small coastal communities from Cornwall to the north of Scotland. According to the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations, about 24,000 people are engaged in fishing and processing, generating an annual economic impact of £1.4 billion.
In the harbor, Will Torenia unloads his catch of blue-green lobsters with claws bound with rubber bands. Born and raised in Newlyn, the 33-year-old started fishing as a teenager, following his father and uncle. His 5-year-old son himself asks every morning how the overnight catch was.
“The offshore wind is coming, whether we like it or not, and we probably have to embrace it,” says Treneer. “But the fishing industry will look very different.”
