Fishing Plotter Files

Fishing Plotter Files

On behalf of FLTCS for the the offshore oil and gas companies operating within the UK continental shelf area, Kingfisher Information Services provide fishermen with free fishing plotter files containing positions of all surface and subsea structures.

These plotter files are produced from the best available data sourced directly from the offshore operators. The plotter files contain information for all structures. Fishing plotter files are available for the following systems - please click on your system below to download file.

Please note: If fishermen have any queries, or become aware of possible errors in the FishSAFE data, please complete the feedback form, alternatively, contact Kingfisher using the details on the contact us page.

Litton Maxsea Penta SIS MicroPlot Sodena WIN Transas TMPlannerQuod Olex TRAX
	Oil & gas fishing plotter file data

For help loading the above files onto your fishing plotter, please see the installation help page or click here.

To receive regular FREE updates of oil & gas fishing plotter files, please register your details on the homepage of this website.

January 2017 quota allocations for certain fish species.

Trends in Scottish Fish Stocks 2016

A paper on the state of gadoid (cod family) fish stocks by the University of the Highlands and islands has just been published. The paper highlights some of the significant (for the good) changes in fish stocks in recent years.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: “We are delighted this report confirms the general trend of increasing fish stocks in Scottish waters. Much of this recovery can be attributed to the innovation of our fishermen in developing more selective types of fishing gear and pioneering other initiatives such as real time area closures.

“With Brexit looming, our fishermen can look to the future with real confidence. Regaining control of our own 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will provide a sea of opportunity for the implementation of fit-for-purpose sustainable fisheries management that benefits both our fishing communities and the marine environment.

“This steady and hard-won recovery must be nurtured and continued. The report underlines the clear importance of gaining full control of our EEZ, which must be a red-line issue during the forthcoming negotiations. Access to our waters should only be considered and discussed once we have achieved this control.”


Two parameters are commonly used to reflect the state of a fish stock and the level of exploitation to which it is subject:

• The Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB) is the estimated biomass (weight) of sexually mature fish in a stock, and is commonly used as a measure of the size of the stock.
• The Fishing Mortality Rate (F) is a measure of the proportion of a fish stock that is removed (caught) each year. F is measured on a logarithmic scale; thus a value of 1.0 (F1.0) corresponds to 63% of the stock being removed each year, F0.7corresponds to 50% of the stock being removed and F0.5 to 39%.

Two general trends are apparent from the whitefish data:

The spawning stock biomasses (SSB) of most whitefish stocks have increased
since the mid-2000s, in some cases by substantial amounts.

The fishing mortality rates (F) for all the species covered have declined since
the mid-2000s, again by substantial amounts in some cases.

Although the sizes of some stocks (such as cod and haddock) remain below levels seen in the past, stocks of others (such as plaice and hake) are at historic highs.

Read the paper online:

The paper was published by Ian R Napier (ian.napier@uhi.ac.uk) for the University of Highlands & Islands. 

Looking down on us now.

Dudley Penrose 1939-2017

The service provided by Penlee lifeboat station relies almost entirely on the unstinting support of volunteers - from the sea-going crew who see all the action to lifeboat station crew, to tea-making, cake-baking, stall-manning volunteers. So, it was particularly sad this morning to learn of the deaths of two outstanding of its most loyal and long-standing supporters:

"It truly is a very sad day for Penlee Lifeboat Station - their flag is flying at half mast for long-serving Head Launcher, Dudley Penrose, who passed away earlier today as well as long-serving supporter, Binkie Wallen.

Shipwright Dudley, a Mousehole man born and bred, joined the Penlee Lifeboat Shore Crew at the age of 17yrs. He was a 'runner', who at the sound of the maroon would run from his home on Raginnis Hill, Mousehole to the lifeboat station at Penlee Point to assist with the launching process.

In 1970 he became Head Launcher and served 47 years with the RNLI, retiring in 1983 when the lifeboat moved to Newlyn. Dudley loved the RNLI and everything about it - he was a loyal, dedicated, hard working, well respected volunteer, who was much loved by all at Penlee - in Dudley's words, 'The RNLI was my life, the lifeboat always came first'.

Our thoughts are with his daughter Linda (wife of Ajax skipper Alan Dwan) and the family. Another loyal member of our lifeboat family has crossed the bar."

Get the full picture from the Penlee RNLI lifeboat page on Facebook.

True Grit and the Future of Fishing

The latest post from Mike Warner's EastCoastAvocet's blog focuses on the gritty side of fishing, the story of Lowestoft skipper, Jefferey Melton. As a way of life, fishing is diminishing - as are many other traditional occupations across the globe that require graft. While it seems there are there are plenty of adrenaline junkies' videos on YouTube from young people getting their kicks from taking risks there seem to be a diminishing number of them in this increasingly sanitised and safety-obsessed world willing to do so in order to earn a rewarding living. 

Mike's story is not intended to glorify but to tell it as it is - any work involving moving machine parts has associated risks - as does everyday commuting on public roads in a country with 26 million cars. In Newlyn, local bass fisherman, Steven 'Cod' Astley had a brush with septicemia that cost him both legs, amputated below the knee - 

he is determined to get back to sea once he gets used to his new pins.


Here, a few extracts from Mike's story highlights some of the key issues and events that have shaped current thinking:

"I’ve often spoken of the dangers that our fishermen face at sea (and on land) in their timeless pursuit of wild seafood. Indeed, with an unprecedented nine lives being tragically lost in the first half of 2016 alone (Seafish) and more life-changing accidents being recorded than the Alaskan Crab fishery, so graphically portrayed in the riveting documentary Deadliest Catch, the UK’s most dangerous peacetime occupation has certainly been living up to its reputation recently.

These alarming statistics have prompted organisations such as the RNLI ,The Fishermens Mission and Seafish to galvanise and redouble their efforts in encouraging fishermen to wear PFDs (personal flotation devices) and have been handing them out free, to those who qualify, as described in my 2015 post, reflecting the jointly organised and well-documented #SeaYouHomeSafe campaign. This laudable and essential practice of life preservation following a man overboard incident, has not just saved many lives already but sought closure for bereaved families where the deceased’s body has been successfully recovered.

But PFD’s don’t prevent accidents. Disaster can lurk behind every crashing lump of icy swell and every straining warp, but equally, as identified by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), many incidents recorded occur in relatively calm conditions, during the fairer weather months from June to September (Seafish).

Skipper Jefferey Melton aboard the Serene Dawn

Lowestoft skipper Jeffery Melton, was fishing singlehandedly aboard his 14m beamer, Serene Dawn (LT 7), in the Wash, in May 2015, a freak set of circumstances combined to render the 54 year old Jeffery, a well-known, hugely experienced and much admired East Anglian fisherman, suddenly and violently disabled in an horrific, split-second trauma, whilst towing for shrimps some miles off the North Norfolk coast.

“It was just another day” he smiles, “a routine I’ve practised a thousand times. I got down to the fish room, to look at the pump and began to lift the hatch, which was proving stubborn to move. As I gave it a shove, it freed and I stumbled forward.”

The ensuing seconds remain a blur to Jeffery, but in the following hazy and searingly shocking moments, he realised that where his booted and oilskinned left leg had been, was now a tangled, bleeding mass of shattered bone and torn flesh, below the knee.

“I thought to myself, Jeffery boy, what the hell ha’ you done?”

Read the full story here with pictures of a recent trip with Jefferey talking candidly to Mike Warner.

Monday morning with two full trips of fish on the auction floor.

One of the port's biggest beam trawlers landed a good mix of fish for this morning's market...

including these huge megrims soles..

huge monk...

along with these much smaller monk known as scampi tails - as they were often used to create 'scampi' when cut into bite-sized portions and deep fried coated in breadcrumbs - back in the 70s, the Newlyn Meadery was associated with such a practice, maybe just an urban myth!...

Cefas vs Moushole Fish; time to catch up on a little weekend football gossip...

the lateral line of which fish?...

got to love those lemons form the St Georges...

the netter, Ajax's fish spilled over on to the main auction hall...

more distinct lateral lines but from which fish...

head to tail, just like dancing the conger...

just two grades of hake form the Ajax's big trip...

more distinct lateral lines, but this time white ones, but which fish?...

all hail the mighty hake...

drizzly, very drizzly, mizzly Monday morning...

but there is no end in sight of the mackerel filling the boots of the handliners working in St Ives bay...

and the odd bass or two...

young and old John Dory...

scallops by the bag.

Marazion murmurations.

At this time of year, just yards from the beach looking towards St Michael's Mount, hundreds of thousands of starlings gather at dusk to roost overnight in the trees around Marazion in Cornwall.