Consultation outcome: A consultation on a seasonal closure of crawfish fishery in ICES area 7

⌂Back To Homepage Subscribe To RSS Feed

Marine Management Organisation

December 21

10:04 2023

Print This Article Share it With Friends

Created by Marine Management Organisation 0 comments

Having considered the consultation responses, scientific evidence, socio-economic impacts and relevant legislation and policy, UKFAs have agreed to introduce a closure of the crawfish fishery for all UK and EU vessels in:

English waters of ICES area 7 from 5 February to 30 April 2024

This closure length will protect berried and juvenile crawfish whilst balancing socio-economic considerations, fulfilling EU notification obligations and allowing the shellfish industry time to adapt business processes.

Further information on a summary of responses received and reasoning behind the decision is available in the decision document.

What happens next?

The closure will be enacted by a?licence variation.

The variation will include a prohibition to all vessels fishing, retaining on board, storing or landing crawfish from 5 February 30 April 2024 (inclusive) in English waters of ICES area 7.

Original consultation

Consultation description

2023 consultation

Background

The fishing industry shared concerns regarding the recent increase in crawfish (Palinurus spp) landings coupled with an observed increase in the size of the fishery.

MMO held a co-design workshop on 3 October 2023 with fishers to discuss the current issues with the southwest crawfish fishery, and proposed options for management in the short-term.

Consultation

Following this MMO has opened a consultation on a potential seasonal closure of the crawfish fishery. The potential closure would seek to prohibit the retaining and landing of crawfish in English waters of ICES area 7 for all UK and EU vessels using all gear types.

MMO is proposing the following potential closure periods for consideration:

No closure
Mid December 2023 to 31 May 2024: This would provide the greatest protection to crawfish.
1 January 2024 to 31 May 2024: This would allow fishing for the Christmas market.
1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024: This would align with the French (Brittany) crawfish closure.

The rationale for the closure is to:

Offer protection for breeding and spawning opportunities.
Reduce the risk of high mortality rates from catching fish that are in poor condition and from the potential of long net soak times or net loss in poor weather.
Support future growth in the population by allowing settlement of juvenile stock.

This consultation has been drafted following scientific advice, engagement with the fishing industry, Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities, and UK Fisheries Administrations. This consultation supports the work of the crab and lobster fisheries management plan.

The consultation is open from 13 November to 27 November 2023. To respond to this consultation and access further information, please see below.

What happens next??

MMO will review all the information received during the consultation and will publish a summary of the responses and the decision on whether to close the crawfish fishery and when a closure might occur. Any closure will be enacted by a licence variation.

Scroll Back To Top 📄More Articles

Comments

Scroll Back To Top ✎Write Comment

We don't have any comments for this article yet. Why not join in and start a discussion.

Your name:	Your email:
Comments:
Post my comment

GovWire