Analyses of fishing activities in the Belgian part of the North Sea, Flemish banks and proposed management areas for seafloor integrity

In the framework of the Belgian measures program of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Belgian Government is submitting a proposal with 3 new management areas where bottom disturbing fishery will be forbidden to protect special benthic habitats: submerged sandbanks, gravel beds and biogenic reefs. For the EU negotiation procedure, a background document investigating the economic activities in the newly defined management areas was needed. Therefore, this report describes the fishing a…

In the framework of the Belgian measures program of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Belgian Government is submitting a proposal with 3 new management areas where bottom disturbing fishery will be forbidden to protect special benthic habitats: submerged sandbanks, gravel beds and biogenic reefs. For the EU negotiation procedure, a background document investigating the economic activities in the newly defined management areas was needed. Therefore, this report describes the fishing activities in the BPNS, in the Natura2000 area ‘Flemish Banks’ and in the 3 management areas.