Quantitative analysis of the impact of fishing ship traffic streams on traffic streams of merchant vessels in Polish maritime areas

The Baltic Sea is crisscrossed by several dense vessel traffic routes. Growing shipping traffic increases the likelihood of collisions. A quantitative analysis of the impact of fishing vessel traffic streams on streams of merchant vessel traffic aims to identify areas of intense traffic of this type and to assess the potential risks. The identification of intersections of fishing vessel routes and merchant shipping traffic allows us to identify spots of potential collisions. The analysis made use of the IALA IWRAP Mk2 program and AIS data collected from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014.