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In the strong-running tides of the Irish Sea, a British minehunter uses her sophisticated sonar to locate a beam trawler’s gear stuck fast on a bottom snag. Some 400 miles northeast, off the Shet- lands, HMS Leeds Castle sends a boarding party to a Scandinavian purse-netter to check the contents of her hold, and off the East Anglian coast, an Island-class ship checks on an offshore gas platform.
ijgf
All in a typical day’s work for the s,1^uiar Royal Navy ships that fly the blue and yellow pendant of the “ Protection Squadron. This unit haS ginned authority over the hundreds o
Sal
?4l p ^bis also includes preventing ille- hoiq |,§ by foreign vessels that do not • K- fishing licenses.
()ffSLe s9uadron’s secondary role protects
'ore
;r°llii
fo,
wtjo " ships to respond rapidly to vo|v: er 0r operational emergencies in- Po,et§ ^e structures, and, deterring any " ’ai terrorist acts.
'■lir,. hafposcs under the Commodore, • k^r Vessels.
fishery limits extend about
^managed fishing grounds, iirijj ,"Uahly the oldest formed maritime K0*he world, the squadron is also the flecti Davy's largest, with 13 ships. Re- il (,.^8 the nature of the offshore scene, 'i,L, two roles, the most important of trjvjf absorbs 80% of its activity and b|eS l^e fishery protection task. In this m ^Uadron personnel ensure that all (j. j^n and foreign vessels fishing within limits comply with national and ^an Economic Community regula-
mstallations. The task involves lng the dozens of rigs and plat- Wi ^bhin the British sector, enabling
V- n ■■
Vfil.,
the i Sq
^VtK^r°n headquarters is located in the l(l Royal Naval Dockyard complex
Recerj1 es from Edinburgh, Scotland, 'hip changes in the service’s small '<|Uacj0r8anization have integrated the 'ivP °n into a larger unit for administra- 'tilde ^ s9uare miles over 13 degrees lat- itbinanC* year"r°und fishing takes place Royaj *50,000 square miles of this. S Navy Captain J. S. Chestnutt, who centuries-old title of Captain, Protection, said recently:
jtsGlVen the size of U. K. fishery lim’ Patrol areas are considerable, and
. . . vary in extent. It is evident that northwest European geography cannot support the 200-nautical-mile limit all around the U. K. coastline, so in confined waters, such as the Irish Sea and English Channel, an internationally- agreed median line has been [established]. However, the United Kingdom’s involvement with Rockall [a seamount northwest of Ireland] has resulted in a major limits expansion to the northwest, although this in turn remains a subject for legal discussion.”
To reflect the importance of the fishing industry on a U. K. national basis, Royal Navy protection ships act as agents for a wide range of government departments, dependent upon particular operational circumstances. In English waters, the main authority is the London-based Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, while north of the border, it is the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. The latter agency also maintains a six-vessel and two-aircraft patrol fleet, and the former operates two D0228 aircraft. Both organizations work in close cooperation with the squadron and enjoy an excellent liaison.
Given the nature of the fishery protection task, with its many seasonal variations, effective patrolling depends on:
► Close contact among the many official agencies involved
► The thorough collection of material during patrols and an open two-way information flow that produces a complete offshore picture
► Experienced personnel, as well as the need to provide pre-appointment training for certain specialists
An unarmed boarding party from HMS Anglesey checks a fishing vessel’s nets against regulations, while the Anglesey's ‘Searider’ rigid inflatable circles. Squadron ships protect U. K. fish landings and produce expert seamen.
According to Captain Chestnutt, the massive expansion of U. K. fishery limits to 200 nautical miles in 1977 changed the entire face of the protection task. It is now an immensely complicated subject in every way, with regulations, for example, covering who can catch which species where, when, how, and in what quantities. Complications exist to the level that minimum cod sizes allowable in the North Sea are different from those applicable in the Irish Sea. Fishery protection has come a long way since preEuropean Economic Community days, when the squadron’s primary concern was with limit and net mesh size enforcement. Now, the European Economic Community and the British government make legislation, which is subject to change, that governs operations. As a result, commanding and boarding officers must keep up to date, as well as run their ships—a heavy and demanding workload.
Operations: The Rosyth-based Flag Officer, Scotland & Northern Ireland, exercises formal operational control over the entire Fishery Protection Squadron. Squadron ships currently operate in two divisions, one covering inshore waters within the 12-mile limit, and the other covering the area to the full 200-nautical mile boundary. (See Table 1.)
Patrols: To ensure the greatest possible offshore cover, the Ministry of Defence tasks the squadron to provide a specific annual number of sea days. In 1986/87, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland requested 1,690 days, with 360 of these allocated for patrol in Scottish waters. The outcome, inevitably, is a great deal of sea time, with this, in turn, regulated by maintenance and refit requirements (normally undertaken at the Rosyth home port), and personnel needs, such as leave time. It also results in fishery protection ships spending only a fraction of their time at Rosyth, and for this reason their periods alongside are spent in smaller ports and harbors around the United Kingdom. Of equal consequence is the detached nature of the operation, leaving much to the initiative of the lieutenant commanders and senior lieutenants in
:<*di
,n8s / June 1988
93
itrol ac
uuuig i uiuca. nittj*/* r .
entails boarding U. K. and
tivity
lieutenant and a small supporting^jveS the inspection of between two an^
and the typical patrol average inv
command. To offset this, all vessels have standard, comprehensive communications outfits, which allow immediate contact with higher authority if the need arises.
The actual conduct of any particular patrol is left very much to the discretion of the commanding officer concerned, although he does have to abide within parameters laid down by the Captain, Fishery Protection and the Flag Officer, Scotland and Northern Ireland. According to Captain Chestnutt:
“We know these people have sufficient experience ... so we let them get on with it. They are out there, we are not; but we can, if necessary, signal them to move into another part of the area, or carry out any particular task. Equally, they can come back to ask for a change in guidelines if they feel it necessary, and with the way in which our signals system works, contact is never a problem.”
Patrol lengths vary as a function of the area concerned, but on average, Offshore Division ships are at sea for up to eight days, followed by a 48-hour stand-off in a suitable port. Inshore Division ships work a routine of four days on patrol with 24 hours in port, and these periods are normally repeated for four to five weeks. However, time in port is often spent in talking to fishing and related interests.
Experience on the fishery protection task is vital. Furthermore, a reasonably long tenure of appointments is essential, allowing the maximum possible continuity and also ensuring the best possible benefit from intensive pre-appointment courses organized and run by the civil authorities. The courses explain the legislative complexities of the task, as well as provide an in-depth overview of fishing and other offshore activity.
In Royal Navy experience, small ships are traditionally happy ships, and despite the workload and considerable element of sea time, the squadron is a popular billet. Captain Chestnutt suggests also that the seamanship opportunity is of itself an attraction:
“We have many ratings who come back time after time, gaining experience and advancing in rank as they go. Small ships typically place that much more responsibility on their
complements; their routines have be that much less formal than e s ^ where, and life is never dull- On y few people are so badly affecte seasickness that we have to draft t elsewhere, and for the ambitious, > ^ a truly marvellous training 8roU"r' Equally, our ships go to ports not n mally visited by other naval yesse and this is still an attraction.
Boarding Parties: A major pal
fishing vessels to ensure their comp',aj with regulations on catch content f species permitted. Dependent on wea.on conditions, and in fishery ProtLLhjn2 terms these are traditionally sornete f,e less of a problem than might otherWi j expected, the commanding officer.j select a suitable vessel. The boarding task normally falls to the ^
and
j -- jjr
vessels per day. However, this ^ crease to six on occasion, and se e0f will depend on factors, such as the da the fishing vessel’s last inspection- ^ Boarding is carried out after a
Table 1 Royal Navy Fishery Protection Divisions
Personnel
Remarks
Displacement
(Tons) Speed (Knots) Armament
Inshore
Ton-class minehunters: Hubberston, Kedleston
Ton-class minesweepers: Soberton, Upton
River-class, Extra Deep Armed Team Sweep Blaclcwater
370
370
770
15 (cruising)
15 (cruising)
(1) 40-mm Bofors
(1) 40-mm Bofors
5 officers, 33 ratings
5 officers, 24 ratings
Wooden
hull
Wooden
hull
14
(1) 40-mm Bofors; (2) 7.62-mm machine guns
7 officers,
7 petty officers, 16 ratings
North Sea oilfie>d supply vcSSL design
Offshore
Castle-class patrol vessel: Leeds Castle
1,250
20
(1) 40-mm Bofors; (2) 7.62-mm machine guns; mines; helo platform
7 officers,
43 ratings (plus Marine detachment)
Service in Falklands
Conflict
Island-class patrol vessels: Alderney, Anglesey, Guernsey, Jersey, Lindis- farne, Orkney, Shetland
1,000
16.5
(1) 40-mm Bofors; (2) 7.62-mm machine guns
5 officers,
29 ratings (plus Marine detachment)
Deep-watcf trawler huh design
Source: Combat Fleets of the World 1988189 (Naval Institute Press, 1988).
A History of the Fishery Protection Squadron
While few of the world’s maritime forces have histo- jjes dating from the 19th century, the Royal Navy’s Nshery Protection Squadron can trace its ancestry for than 600 years. In 1379. the East Anglian port of ■armouth provided guardships for the local fishing fleet as it worked the newly discovered North Sea grounds. “°rne 200 years later, official archives record that the K°yal Navy took over the task, but at an annual cost of *-'00. The expansion of the English fishing industry soon j°°k its ships even further afield, into Newfoundland, celandic, and Greenland waters.
Consequently, in 1586, two years before the Armada Spain, the Admiralty provided a “Wafting Ship.”
™s ship annually escorted the fishing fleet to the distant water grounds in late March and remained until the sea- s°n ended in the early fall to provide protection against P’rates, privateers, and the more turbulent elements among the fishing community.
Since then, the Royal Navy has maintained a near c°ntinuous presence among the fisheries, although in the n'°re enlightened 18th and 19th centuries, the warring Powers usually treated fishermen as noncombatants.
. ndeniably, those early fisheries were also a source of ^formation and fresh victuals in the days of salt beef and hard tack.
Over the years, hundreds of British sea officers were engaged in fishery protection duties, then as now leam- *n§ their trade in the hardest of all maritime schools.
ne of the most noteworthy of these was Captain Hora- .|Q Nelson, once Captain, Fishery Protection, who served 111 "M.S Albemarle between 1781 and 1783 (albeit, a "reat deal of this time was spent in the West Indies.)
'n time, the various nations concerned recognized the j^d to codify and standardize European fisheries’ legis- atl°n, and, as a result, signed a major treaty in 1883. H'tially, it only covered the North Sea, but more re- ent'y its writ has been extended to include the north- est Atlantic. However, the ships engaged in fishery Pr°tection duties still fly the squadron pendant specified by the original agreement. The first dedicated Royal Navy Fishery Protection ship, the gunboat HMS Hearty, entered service in 1891, replacing ships assigned to the task on an ad hoc basis, and this policy of providing full-time assets continues.
As might be expected, both world wars caused serious loss and disruption to the industry, with hundreds of fishing vessels being requisitioned for a multitude of tasks and the squadron dispersed to carry out escort duties and countless other tasks. In 1945, the squadron was reformed to include a mix of sloops and ocean minesweepers, whose combined “beat” stretched from the White Sea southward by way of Bear Island, Greenland, and Iceland to the Southwest Approaches. In the late 1950s, the first of several “Cod Wars” with Iceland required the presence of Royal Navy ships of up to fleet- destroyer size to protect trawlers working in the disputed areas.
In time, international agreement on the Law of the Sea recognized the right of nations to extend their territorial waters, and in 1976, the United Kingdom ceased any meaningful fishing activity off Iceland as well as extended its own iimits to 200 nautical miles. In turn, this ended long-range fishery protection requirements, creating a much greater concentration of effort on territorial and inshore waters. Smaller fishery protection vessels were commissioned during the latter part of the 1970s and early 1980s, although the inshore task was by no means a new one and previously had seen trials with hovercraft, gas-turbine fast patrol boats, and a Boeing Jetfoil.
Squadron headquarters had long been shore-based at Port Edgar on the south bank of the Forth estuary, but in 1976 this facility closed as a result of tightened defense spending, and the operation moved across the firth to Rosyth dockyard. Simultaneously, the task was expanded to include the surveillance and protection of the United Kingdom’s vital offshore oil and gas installations.
—By James D. Ferguson
■its to
°'ved
ensure their legality for the areas
1 and the type of catch coming on Cen ' 'n the case of foreign vessels, liter^ are checked against lists of ships
fitted
to work within U. K. waters, as
CfTti
ifterS^'°n with the skipper, and normally tphe gear is hauled in, so that the in- 0n.dl0n can include an assessment of the fj^cck catch as well as that in the hold, to party measures the catch at random bej SUre that immature stocks are not Caught, and studies log books for learp ^te catc'1 records. In addition, the H^J^Pects net mesh sizes and attach- itiv, ’
apojjn countries have negotiated agreed- (if t(lena,T1'5ers- Spain (a recent member 'or c-Cropean Economic Community), Cen$ejarnP'e’ has 150 of its vessels li; and Fishery Protection ships sUreln up-to-date lists of names to en- c°nipliance.
Despite ever-changing, complex regulations, contravention is, in fact, rare, and various remedies are open to commanding officers. Several types of warning are available, but where the alleged offense is deemed to be serious enough for an arrest, then the offending vessel is escorted to the nearest port for trial by the civil authorities. Evidence is required for the charge to stand up in court, and the boarding party’s composition reflects this need, with the first lieutenant typically accompanied by at least one other officer or a senior rating. (Scottish law requires at least two witnesses for corroboration.)
Boathandling: A 16-foot Avon “Sea- rider” rigid-hull inflatable, with an 85- horsepower outboard motor capable of 45 knots, is used for boardings. The normal crew size is two, and long squadron experience allows the “Searider” to be used in sea states well above the capabilities of most standard warship small boats. In fact, accidents are rare, and as far as can be ascertained, the squadron has sustained neither loss of life nor serious injury during boarding work.
This kind of small boat operation in all weather or at night calls for high standards of practical seamanship, and only the most highly qualified coxswains are permitted to take their craft away in bad conditions. Captain Chestnutt stressed that this kind of applied seamanship was one of the squadron’s main strengths: “We obviously have to run a very thorough training program for our ‘Searider’ crews, and this is in addition to the instruction provided as standard throughout the fleet. Our ships are on the small side . . . and a
95
n8s/June 1988
diS'
the
many occasions, has towed home
dis- Captai(1
vessels. Says
o"'11
'($500
Given the current £300 million
id-
mgs, the cost of fishery protection ^ more than justified, although diff>cU^e(|
eo-
their ship’s company, and of 111 ||y importance, they learn by actua ' doing the job themselves.
o\r
As time passes, they are ^
turn,
quite remarkable degree. Bear in
a[1]
C311
ell
ing, are a unique breed, as 'vci'^c
iiaf
contributor to a wide range of specialist publ'clhc
major part of our training involves much hard work in putting the inflat- ables in and out of the water. . . .
“But the real test comes in the boarding operation, the more so as fishermen are themselves seamen to their fingertips and can only be expected to respect those who can show an equal competence in small craft. As a result, the squadron provides invaluable experience for junior officers not long out of training, and this is why the service has a declared policy of sending so many of them to sea with us. When it comes down to it, seaman officers have to be seamanlike, and by taking our people so early in their careers, the foundations are well and truly laid for the future.”
Legal Constraints: The squadron typically detains between 40 and 50 fishing vessels annually for various breaches of U. K. and European Economic Community regulations, with subsequent fines on conviction of up to £50,000 (or about $80-90,000) per offense. This excludes the possible confiscation of catch and/or gear, plus in the most extreme cases, the impounding of the vessel itself. To this is added the expensive downtime caused by the transit to and from port, plus the length of the legal process.
Fishery Protection ship crew members also provide pretrial information as well as participate in the actual trial, although this usually takes place without delay. Captain Chestnutt explains that long delays could cause serious problems: “The offender will obviously have to return to court, and we may have witnesses who might have been posted overseas in the interim. Their return is both expensive and inconvenient, so the quicker the trial is over the better for everyone.”
Squadron officers note that fishermen in general bear little animosity when apprehended. In the squadron’s experience, more than 98% of all fishermen broke no laws, while around half of the remainder offended through genuine ignorance. The rest, “Rogues in any society!” took a chance, and, if caught, paid the penalty.
By long-standing tradition, Royal Navy boarding parties are unarmed, and since the 1977 expansion of U. K. limits, not a single shot has been fired even in pursuit of a fleeing poacher. According to Captain Chestnutt:
“The U. K. authorities simply do not feel that a ton of poached fish is ever worth firing for. We have had several cases of the one which did get away later being sent back by its own national authorities, and this is also a most useful deterrent.”
In Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food-controlled water alone, 1986 saw 1,400 boardings. Of these, the authorities prosecuted 50 cases, of which 48 were successful, but Captain Chestnutt stresses that the operation was carried out entirely by consent.
“We work in the same way as the civil authorities police the community ashore. In general terms, fishermen are inherent conservationists. They have to be, for if they catch immature stock, or overfish, then they leave nothing for future generations. They do know that squadron policy is to be totally even-handed in whom we board, and this is stressed during preappointment training. Our boarding parties soon learn to detect offences through on-the-job experience, and this is one reason why it takes time to work up a protection vessel after a long refit.”
Recommissioning is followed by the normal small-ship work-up program, with role training and then a full Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food inspection. After this, the ship can be expected to serve as a useful member of the squadron.
“When we take other vessels on a detachment basis, we put them through the same routine . . . [and have them stay] with us for a minimum of eight months. Anything less we find unproductive as there has simply not been time to build up either the skills or experience we require.”
Protecting Offshore Installations: During patrols around oil and gas installations, Fishery Protection vessels are available to assist with any emergency, and carry pollution control equipment to deal with spills. During the major international rescue operation that followed the March 1980 loss of the accommodation rig Alexander L. Kielland, for example, HMS Lindisfarne was in the area and assumed duty as on-scene commander. HMS Leeds Castle played a major part in the search for bodies and wreckage from the Chinook helicopter that crashed off Shetland in November 1986, and Fishery Protection vessels have been involved in many similar, albeit less serious, emergencies. In the event of an offshore terrorist incident, the nearest squadron vessel almost certainly would be involved, but U. K. policy in such cases is to have the appropriate civil police authority in overall control.
Her Majesty’s Coast Guard’s paramount role is that of rescue coordination, and Fishery Protection ships are often asked by them to assist in resolving tress incidents. Over the years squadron has often provided skilled sp^ cialists to help with offshore repairs defective or damaged equipment, and.0 abled fishing Chestnutt:
“The provision of assistance is ® course a very long-standing Naval tradition, and given the naw of their task, squadron vessels p°s^ bly help out more often than anv0^ else. Our divers free fouled Pr°P.|_ Iors, ships have a paramedic capau , ity, and we have pumps to cope w fire-fighting or flooding emergent In one case, we assisted in the apP . hension of a drugrunner, but this * of work is normally left to Her MaJe ty’s Customs, which have their vessels.”
The Value of Fishery rroteCS million) annual value of U. K. fish lan
quantify for many reasons. To be an into the equation, for instance, 15 ^ immensely useful role in seaman^ training, presenting young officers ratings with a continuous challenge' well as being a forcing ground for Pr° sional skills of the highest order. Acc° ing to Captain Chestnutt:
“We have these relatively junior P ^ pie making their own decisions matter of course, and also acqul ^ practical experience in the harde proving grounds. . . . They 0f from more experienced members^
more and more responsibility, this refines their own sku
well as developing self-reliance^,^ that fishermen, by virtue of their
being very difficult to impress- know from our many contacts Wi ^ fishing industry that the squadron^ ^ this respect, and to maintain it " 0f work to the very highest standar practical seamanship.”
[1] , j-ggln
Mr. Ferguson is an aviation journalist
His Royal Navy service included 18 months „ ulitl' staff of the Commodore, Fishery Protection ron, 1958-60.