**REPORT TITLE**: Assessment of Space and Use Conflicts between the
Fishing and Oil Industries. 

Vols. I through V.

**STUDY TITLE**: Assessment of Space and Use Conflicts on the U.S. Outer
Continental Shelf

Between Oil and Gas Industry and Commercial and Recreational Fishermen.

CONTRACT NUMBER(S): BLM: CT9‑26; MMS: 14‑12‑0001‑29167.

SPONSORING OCS REGION: Atlantic.

APPLICABLE PLANNING AREA(S): All.

FISCAL YEAR(S) OF PROJECT FUNDING: 1979.

COMPLETION DATE OF REPORT: January 1981.

COST(S): FY 1979: \$334,467; CUMULATIVE PROJECT COST: \$334,467.

PROJECT MANAGER(S): B. Ingram.

AFFILIATION: Centaur Associates, Inc.

ADDRESS: 1120 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 465, Washington, D.C. 
20036.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S)\*: F. Proschaska, M. Roessler, D. Tabb.

KEY WORDS: North Atlantic; Mid‑Atlantic; South Atlantic; Eastern Gulf;
Central Gulf; Western Gulf; Southern California; Central and Northern
California; Gulf of Alaska; Kodiak; Cook Inlet; Shumagin; North Aleutian
Basin; St. George Basin; Navarin Basin; St. Matthew Hall; Norton Basin;
Hope Basin; Barrow Arch; Diapir Field; socioeconomics; literature
review; modeling; commercial fishing.

ACCESS NUMBER: 29167

**BACKGROUND**: Resources present on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) have traditionally been utilized primarily by commercial and
recreational fishing interests.  With increased oil and gas activities
on the OCS, space and use interactions between the two industries are
inevitable.  To assess the degree that oil and gas operations conflict
with fishing activities, the Bureau of Land Management supported a
comprehensive survey of ongoing and potential conflicts.

**OBJECTIVES**: (1) To review historical conflicts between OCS oil and
fishing industries; (2) To identify potential and ongoing fishing gear
type vs. oil structure conflicts; (3) To develop a predictive catch loss
model due to space loss by OCS oil structures; and (4) To assess the
ability of particular harbors to accommodate oil support vessels and
staging operations.

**DESCRIPTION**: The geographical scope of this study included the
Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and California OCS lease sale regions.  Site
visits were made to 30 ports.  Each port was evaluated for physical
characteristics (i.e., depth, basin size onshore acreage), use by the
fishing industry, and potential to service as a existing constraints and
issues in the harbor and availability of berthing space and marine
service facilities (i.e., yards, mechanics, electronics, technicians).

Literature reviews were conducted to provide descriptions of presently
used fishing gear types and OCS oil structures and technologies.  To
predict potential catch loss due to area by oil structures, a Markovian
statistical model was used.  The model predicted the probability of
catching fishes which move randomly between a buffer (no‑fishing zone
near the structure) zone and adjacent fishable zones.  The relative
catch collected under various development alternatives and with various
assumed parameters was compared with relative catch collected with no
loss.  Results of the expected catch quantity and value can be compared
to estimate expected loss.  Monte Carlo techniques were used to estimate
the probabilistic distribution of impacts as a function of a large
number of uncertain variables.  Estimates were made of component and
total cost and revenue impacts associated with catch loss and berthing,
and repair cost impacts.

**SIGNIFICANT CONCLUSIONS**: Otter trawls, bottom dredges, and purse
seines were most likely to conflict with oil structures.  Submerged
wellheads, pipelines, and other subsea structures were most hazardous
for these gear types.  Structure‑related debris and activities caused
more problems to fishermen than the actual oil structures.  Most
significant projected catch losses were related to otter trawl fisheries
in the North Atlantic, Mid‑Atlantic, and Eastern Gulf of Mexico
regions.  Fishery expansion was not expected to be significant in most
areas.  Competition for labor between the two industries was not
appreciable; in some areas there may be a working relationship.

**STUDY RESULTS**: Fishing gear most likely to conflict with oil
structures included dredges, gill nets, hook‑and‑line, longlines,
mid‑water and otter trawls, pots and traps, and purse seines.  Gear
types least likely to conflict with oil structures were bag, butterfly,
cast, dip, fyke, stop, and trammel nets, and hoes, rakes, scapes,
weirs.  Otter trawls, offshore dredges, and purse seines were considered
most affected.  Drift gear such as gill nets or longlines may be
deployed very close to the down current side of an oil structure. 
Hook‑and‑line, commercial diving, and spearfishing operations may take
place right under a surface structure depending on weather and sea
conditions.  Gear used generally depends on the target species and local
conditions.

Surface structures include fixed, anchored, or tethered platforms,
drillships, and drill units.  Subsurface structures include pipelines,
subsea completions, suspended wellheads, and guyed towers.  Freestanding
steel jacket platforms and other vertical structures require the least
area (5,300 to 14,000 m^2^). Catenary moored floating production
facilities occupy 0.35 to 0.65 km^2^.

The type of structure used depends on water depth, surficial sedimentary
characteristics, subbottom structural and tectonic characteristics, and
oceanographic and meteorological conditions.

Subsurface structures present the most problem for demersal gear types. 
The most significant problem in most areas arises from debris left on
the bottom from pipeline construction, wellheads, platforms, and supply
vessels.  California and Gulf of Mexico fishermen cited debris (mostly
steel cable and metal scraps) as a significant hazard.  In some areas,
charting of obstructions has been undertaken to avoid gear loss.  Total
gear loss due to OCS structures by shrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico
(Louisiana) was estimated at \$1,848,944 for inshore waters and
\$1,481,225 for offshore waters.  Collisions between fishing vessels and
OCS structures numbered 31 between 1963 and 1978.  The average damage
per fishing vessel as a result of the accidents was \$14,000.  Average
damage to structures was \$3,480. Expansion of many fisheries was not
expected, primarily because most target species are near or have reached
maximum sustainable yields.  Groundfish expansion may be expected for
the South Atlantic region resulting in 50 new vessels by 1990.  Expected
growth in the hake fishery of Northern California is 20 new vessels by
1990.  Little expansion was expected for other areas.

Projections concerning the ability of certain fishing harbors to
accommodate OCS support vessels and staging operations indicate few
problems.  Glouster, Massachusetts harbor would be congested due to
existing fishing activities; however, availability of labor and onshore
acreage would not present problems.  In most areas, competition for
labor (captains and deck hands) would be minimal owing to comparable
salaries offered by both industries.  Licensed captains (ocean
operators) may be lured away from the charter boat trade in some areas. 
In North Carolina and Texas, the OCS support operations are an advantage
to part‑time commercial fisherman seeking work during off seasons. 
Marine facilities were not a problem in most harbors.  Many processing
plants provide berthing and other space to fishermen.  Some California
harbors (Bodega Bay and Moss Landing) are too shallow to support
anything but small OCS crewboats.  Santa Barbara is often severely
congested due to heavy recreational traffic.  Fort Bragg is shallow and
seasonally congested by fishing vessels.

Catch loss simulations predicted dollar losses after 30 years in the sea
scallop fishery of the North Atlantic and Mid‑Atlantic regions to be
\$33,195 and \$31,225, respectively in 1981 dollars.  For the Eastern
Gulf of Mexico region, shrimp fishery mean annual dollar loss was
projected at \$108,176 in 1981 dollars.  In the Mid‑Atlantic, percent
fishing area loss averaged 2.6%.  Eastern Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery
areal loss was expected to be 2.4% after 30 years.  Southern California
trawl fisheries for sole and rockfish were expected to lose 6.9 and 6.0%
of the fishable area, respectively.

**STUDY PRODUCT(S)**: Centaur Associates, Inc.  1981.  Assessment of
Space and Use Conflicts between the Fishing and Oil Industries.  A final
report by Dames and Moore for the U.S. Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management Atlantic OCS Office, New York, NY.  Set ‑ NTIS
No. PB81215956; Vol. I (Interactions between Fishing Gear and Oil
Structures) ‑ NTIS No. PB81215964; Vol. II (Engineering Assessment) ‑
NTIS No. PB81215972; Vol. III (Historical Interactions between the
Fishing and Offshore Oil and Gas Industries) ‑ NTIS No. PB81215980; Vol.
IV (Catch Loss Model) ‑ NTIS No. PB81215998; Vol. V (Potential Port
Impacts on Space, Labor, Marine Facilities, and Other Inputs) ‑ NTIS
No. PB81216004.  Contract No. AA551‑CT9‑26.

\*P.I.\'s affiliation may be different than that listed for Project
Manager(s).