Fishing Activities: UK large vessel mobile gear fisheries effort for 2007 estimated by VMS data

European Union (EU) fishing vessels >15 m in length are tracked by vessel monitoring systems (VMS) each time they leave port. Data from 2007 for vessels in the United Kingdom (UK) fleet operating in the Channel Integrated Approach for Resource Management (CHARM) III study area were obtained from the Marine and Fisheries Agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Data were filtered to include mobile or static gears operating at speeds consistent with typical fishing behaviours. The resulting records were then summarised as the total annual VMS-derived data points within 9 km2 pixels and may be interpreted as a proxy of large vessel fishing effort.