Find out more about draft byelaws to prohibit the use of bottom towed fishing gear in four key areas
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has launched a consultation on proposed new management measures
to protect features of four European marine sites.
The MMO is proposing to introduce byelaws that will protect the following sites from
potential damage by bottom-towed fishing:
-
bedrock reefs in the Start Point to Plymouth
Sound and Eddystone Site of Community Importance (SCI) and in the
Land’s End and Cape Bank SCI -
Ross worm (Sabellaria spinulosa) reefs in the Inner Dowsing, Race Bank and North Ridge SCI and in the Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton SCI
The proposed byelaws have been informed by key
stakeholders through pre-consultation engagement and through the
Fisheries in European Marine Sites Implementation Group.
The consultation will run until 22 October 2013. Click here to find more information about the consultation, draft documents and how to reply.
The government is revising the approach to managing
commercial fisheries in European Marine Sites (EMSs) to ensure these sites have the right level
of protection and that we comply with legal obligations under EU
directives.
The inshore fisheries and conservation authorities (IFCAs) are also carrying out consultation for management measures to protect high risk features of EMSs from commercial fishing within six nautical miles.
Picture credit: Bedrock and stony reef covered with brittlestars and the basket star (Gorgonocephalus sp.), anemones and soft corals © Crown Copyright