Abstract
This pre-construction Monitoring Report has been prepared for Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL) as part of the Project Environmental Monitoring Programme (PEMP) required as part of the Section 36 Consent. This report describes the pre-construction element of condition 27 of the PEMP in relation to cod spawning and satisfies the pre-construction element of condition 35 of BOWL’s section 36 consent.
The North Sea cod (Gadus morhua) stock is assessed as a single unit however there is evidence of sub-stock structuring (Fox et al., 2008 and ICES, 2007). The Moray Firth cod stock is reproductively isolated from other North Sea stocks. Spawning grounds for this species have been defined in the area of the BOWL development (i.e. Coull et al., 1998 and Ellis et al., 2010) however, the degree of spawning activity currently taking place in this area is unknown. The objective of this survey was to sample and analyse adult cod within the 90 dBht noise ranges modelled for the BOWL Development Area in order to characterise cod spawning occurring within the defined area. The survey methodology was designed in consultation with Marine Scotland Science (MSS) and Marine Scotland Licensing and Operations Team (MS-LOT).