Publication - FOI/EIR release

Historical Scottish Fishing Vessel Sightings: EIR release

Published: 3 September 2024
Directorate: Marine Directorate
Topic: Marine and fisheries, Public sector
FOI reference: EIR/202400412230
Date received: 2 May 2024
Date responded: 3 June 2024

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

Information requested

I am sending the email to request historical Scottish Fishing Vessels Sightings data covering the period between the earliest available date and the end of 2023, and the desired parameters are:

Year
Month
Date
Vessel Nationality
Vessel Type
Latitude
Longitude
Activity
ICES Rectangle

It would be great if the data can be shared as a CSV file.

The definition of fishing sighting data I requested is defined in either Mapping inshore fishing activity using aerial, land and vessel-based sighting information or a historical FOI request.

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested in the format you asked for, namely csv files for the years 2016-2023.

Some of the information you have requested has already been released following a previous Freedom of Information request (ref: FOI/202000016609). It covers the years 2011-2015 and is available on the ‘publications’ pages of the Scottish Government website via the following link: Fishing vessel sightings concerning Scotttish waters 2011-2015: EIR release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

Below is an explanation of the column headings and codes used in the data provided.

Column A "Nat" is the Nationality of the fishing vessel sighted. the code is ALPHA-3 ISO and a list of codes is available here: List of country codes by alpha-2, alpha-3 code (ISO 3166) (iban.com) if there are any that are unfamiliar to you.
Column B "Type" is the main type of fishing the vessel engages in. It should be noted that some vessels are capable of fishing with more than one method and the "Type" recorded occasionally may not reflect the actual fishing operation the vessel is engaged in. Where the entry in this column is "-", this indicates that the vessel type is either not known, or has not been recorded at the time of sighting. The overwhelming majority of entries with "-" in this column are for sightings in port where the vessel is tied up and is not engaged in fishing activity.
Column C "Date" is the date the sighting was recorded.
Column D "Latitude" and Column E "Longitude" is the recorded position of the vessel when sighted. Entries recorded as "00°00.00'S 000°00.00'W" relate to sightings in port.
Column F "Area" relates to the ICES area in which the sighting took place. This is recorded in the format "10XX" where "XX" is the ICES area as it is most commonly referred to. For example "104A" relates to ICES area 4A (or IVa). Where this column is blank, the sighting would have taken place in port.
Column G "Rect" relates to the Statistical Rectangle within which the sighting was recorded.
Column H "Activity" details what activity the vessel was engaged in at the time of sighting as follows:

L = Landing catch
T = Tied up in port
F = Fishing
S = Steaming (in transit, not engaged in fishing operations)
O = Other activity

"Other activity" for a sighting in port may indicate, for example, that the vessel is in drydock; while at sea, the vessel may be engaged in guardship duty or other non-fishing activity.

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.