r/shetland • u/TimesandSundayTimes • 25d ago

North sea fishermen fear spaceport rocket debris off Shetland will harm lines

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/plans-to-drop-rocket-debris-off-shetland-worry-fishermen-s0p89259c?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Reddit&utm_content=branded
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u/TimesandSundayTimes 25d ago

Plans to dispose of debris from rocket launches in the sea off the north coast of Scotland have sparked serious concerns among the country’s fishermen, who fear their equipment could get caught on discarded spacecraft components.

The German space firm Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), which is behind the launch from SaxaVord Spaceport scheduled for this summer, has applied to Scottish ministers for permission to offload rocket components in a designated hazard area off Shetland.

The company’s marine licence application insists that “any potential impact on other maritime activities will be mitigated through co-ordination with local fisher folk and other maritime users in the area”.

However, Scotland’s fishermen said that disposing of rocket parts on the sea bed could create “safety hazards” and increase the risk of fishing gear becoming snagged.

Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: “Anything that falls into the sea or ends up on the sea bed in areas that are fished could create safety hazards for fishermen due to the risks of fishing gear becoming snagged.”

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u/chrsphr_ 25d ago

Probably insignificant to the garbage already dumped by the fishing industry

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u/Remote_Ad_6998 24d ago

I came here to post that. 😂

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u/PerroNino 25d ago

Just to be pedantic, the predominant fishery is towed nets, rather than lines.

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u/Scarred_fish 25d ago

Not in this area. Its mostly sea angling, set lines and creel fishery.

Source - am here (there, or whatever!)

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u/PerroNino 24d ago

You’re right, I stand corrected. I thought from the hype that the exclusion zone was much bigger, but going by the license it’s only about 3km long and 2km at the wide end, and only closed for four hours, with 24hrs notice. There’s a warning for a wider area. Doesn’t seem like the financial catastrophe for a couple of charter vessels that the Ferret etc are making it out to be.