North Sea fisheries workshop, 5 November 2019, Hamburg

The workshop on fisheries in the North Sea was attended by several representatives from the fisheries industry, administration and research. They stated that fisheries had a difficult position in spatial planning, as the fishing sector requires a high degree of flexibility and was therefore difficult to integrate. Problems are also seen in the loss of fishing areas due to the exclusion of fishing in offshore wind farm areas, in addition to the planned management measures in the nature reserves in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Here, new solutions are demanded, requirements for multiple use of areas, general permission for passage, licences for adapted fishing in the wind farms and their safety zone if necessary, as well as possible requirements for the spatial planning of the wind farms. Spatial designations could be made for individual target species, and possibilities for compensation measures should be examined.