From Tony Hogg: Fish buyer for Green Gourmet (UK School Meals supplier) President Humber Cruising Association Fishing Club.There is a lot of opposition against the UK wind farms especially in Lincolnshire England where the flat lands show the propellers giving visual pollution for miles. Nobody wants them in there own back garden if they are not being well compensated and the constant wind noise can be very annoying. Although the benefits of sustainable energy is immense, we can understand peoples concerns and agree that is not the sort of pollution we want blurring the landscape for the future. Wind Farms at Sea are altogether a different kettle of fish (Pardon the pun but this is about fish).
One Turbine in a Lincolnshire village disrupts the community, 100 turbines at sea disrupts the odd beam trawler, who for the sake of conservation should be looking at Long Lining. The Wind Farm off the east coast of the Humber Estuary, called the Humber Gateway is destined to be the largest of its kind in Great Britain, provided planning permission is given. In a move that is likely to prove a major test of the government's commitment to expanding the UK's offshore wind capacity,
E.ON has submitted a planning application for its Humber Gateway offshore wind farm, despite opposition from the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The planning application is the first to be made since
Business Secretary John Hutton unveiled plans last year for 33GW of offshore wind capacity to be installed by 2020. However, the MoD has objected to the
proposed £700m wind farm located 8km off the East Yorkshire coast over fears it
could cause disruption to its radar coverage. Despite this opposition, E.ON expressed confidence that an agreement can be reached that will allow the 300MW wind farm to go ahead. A spokesman for the company said that while it could not yet divulge details it was working with the MoD on various "technical solutions" that could minimise any disruption to radar systems. "We believe an agreement can be reached. I hope for all of us that E.On or Centrica who are building the wind farm south of the Humber, get the go ahead to build this project. From what we have seen from the Centrica Wind Farm which is now 5 years in the making, the benefits are far more than sustainable energy.
We are closely getting near to sustainable fishing. As president and founder of the HCA Fishing Club, possibly now the largest Boat angling Club in the UK we have noticed the turbine towers are acting as an artificial reef that is attracting growth and the seabed is thriving with life around the legs, which are now protected from constant beam trawler activity. There were a lot of fears and claims for compensation from the inshore fishing fleet, what is left of it, when the piling started because the fish would desert this rich skate & cod ground. There is still an EEC skate ban for commercial fishing in the area but the angling boats are reporting the best fishing they have seen for 20 years, mainly cod but the skate and dogfish are also here in good numbers. If the Humber Gateway gets the go ahead, it will be on a faily barron sea bed that will only effect the few crab & lobster potters. The cod tend to congregate on the wrecks to the north or the rough ground to the east of this region. The benefits to fishing could be immense if the fish come back to this ground and
Long Linning only is allowed. We could have the first sustainable Gadus Morha Cod fishery in the North Sea, provided nothing silly happens and exclusion zones are put in force. As a fish buyer for a school meals provider, I am consantly being asked for Marine Stewarship Council sustainable fish products and it does my head in trying to source enough of this product. If eco miles start becoming the politicle topic of conversation and they get a badge like MSC, then my job becomes impossible, with Hoki from New Zealand and Pacific Salmon from Alaska, you can understand my enthusiam for off shore wind farms. Also I am a boat angler who lives in Lincolnshire, enough said, bring it on as long as there is NO exclusion zone.
Tony Hogg Tel:07949 836418 
