NIFCA has today made an emergency berried lobsters byelaw, link HERE.
The byelaw, made following the Defra Statutory Instrument 2017 No.899 the “Lobsters and Crawfish (Prohibition of Fishing and Landing) (Amendment) (England) Order 2017”, link HERE ensures a complete and immediate prohibition on berried lobsters being fished for, removed, taken, retained, landed (or stored, carried or transported before first point of sale) by anyone in the NIFCA district.
Anyone with any queries should contact the Authority office or speak to an IFCO.
Limits of NIFCA District
A recreational potter has received financial penalties and had his permit suspended for using more than the permitted 5 pots, landing more than the permitted 1 lobster and for landing 23 undersized lobsters. A District Judge heard this case heard on Friday 22nd September 2017 at North Tyneside Magistrates Court and more details can be seen in our press release HERE
Limits of NIFCA District
Defra are introducing a national prohibition on landing berried hens in England which will be active from Sunday 1st October 2017.
The Defra consultation on prohibiting the landing of egg bearing (‘berried’) lobster and crawfish in England closed on 15 May 2017. The consultation proposed banning the fishing for, and landing of, berried lobster and crawfish in England.
The Defra consultation document on the prohibition can be accessed on the Defra website at:
The Statutory Instrument is also available on the Defra website at:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/899/pdfs/uksi_20170899_en.pdf
Limits of NIFCA District
You can now read our 2017 Stock Assessment of the edible mussel beds on Fenham Flats on our website. Find it HERE