NIFCA Appoints New Enforcement Officers

Northumberland Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NIFCA) has appointed two new enforcement officers this year to its enforcement team.

The organisation, which is based in Blyth, is one of ten IFCAs around the coast of England and works to manage a sustainable marine and inshore fisheries environment in the waters off the coast of Northumberland and North Tyneside.

The new officers are Emily O’Regan and Toby Nash. Their role is to support the overall enforcement of fisheries legislation in the NIFCA district, which includes monitoring and compliance inspections of individuals, vessels, vehicles, and premises.

Emily has been working in fisheries management since 2018. She joined NIFCA from the Marine Management Organisation, where she was a fishery licencing officer.

Describing her NIFCA role, Emily said: “I am enthusiastic about marine conservation and thrilled to accept this position. I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues at NIFCA and getting to know the local fishing community.”

Toby Nash has a varied background in earth and marine environmental consulting, including offshore environmental baseline surveys in South America.

He said: “It feels great to be able to combine my environmental background with my love of being at sea. I look forward to engaging with all aspects of the area’s fisheries and promoting the sustainable use of the local resources.”

Together, Emily and Toby are supporting the Authority in its mandate to ensure that the use of sea fisheries resources is conducted in a sustainable way and the objectives of Marine Conservation Zones are achieved.

Welcoming the new officers, NIFCA chief executive officer Mike Hardy, said: “I was pleased to welcome Emily and Toby to the Authority earlier this year. It is great that NIFCA has a full-strength team of officers whose interests and experience will make a positive contribution to our inshore fisheries management and the marine environment work in Northumberland.”