Call for evidence: ICES area 7d and Lyme Bay king scallop dredge fishery closure
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
Having considered the call for evidence responses and scientific advice on the stock biomass, UKFAs agreed to introduce the following closure in UK waters for the king scallop dredge fishery:
- ICES area 7d for UK and EU vessels over 10 m in length from 1 July to 30 September 2023.
- Lyme Bay 7e (ICES rectangles 29E6, 29E7, 30E6 and 30E7) for UK and EU vessels over 12 m in length from 1 July to 30 September 2023.
The closure will be enacted through a licence variation.
What happens next?
The closure will be enacted by a licence variation.
The variation will include:
- A prohibition to all vessels using scallop dredges over 10 m in length from 1 July - 30 September 2023 in UK waters of ICES area 7d.
- A prohibition to all vessels using scallop dredges over 12 m in length from 1 July - 30 September 2023 in Lyme Bay area 7e (ICES rectangles 29E6, 29E7, 30E6 and 30E7).
Original call for evidence
Call for evidence description
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO), acting on behalf of all four UKFAs, is seeking views on proposals to close UK waters in the ICES area 7d and Lyme Bay in ICES area 7e to the king scallop (Pectens maximus) dredge fishery in summer of 2023. The proposed closures are to protect the stock during spawning in area 7d and limit depletion of the stock in area 7e due to displacement of fishing effort.
The options for proposed 7d king scallop closures are:
- 15 May to 30 September 2023 – a closure period that aligns with the EU closure of 7d to the king scallop dredge fishery.
- 1 July and 30 September 2023 – an extension of the 2022 closure to offer further protection of the species during the spawning period.
- 1 August and 30 September 2023 – the same closure period as 2022.
The proposed 7e king scallop dredge fishery closure is:
- A closure of Lyme Bay (ICES rectangles, 30E6, 30E7, 29E6 and 29E7) aligning to the agreed closure length in ICES area 7d.
The closures would apply to EU and UK scallop dredge vessels and will consider whether to exclude 12 m and under vessels from the closure.
The UKFAs are committed to ensuring fisheries are managed to a level where stocks are healthy and fished sustainably; the marine environment is protected; and economic return for fishers is maximised without impacting stock sustainability.
The call for evidence is open from 26 January to 19 March 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 call for evidence and will publish a summary of the responses and the decision on whether to close the king scallop fishery, when and which vessels will be affected. Any closure will be enacted by a licence variation.
2022 call for evidence
Review the call for evidence and decision documents for the 2022 consultation below.
The call for evidence document for 2022 can be found here:
The response from the call for evidence can be found here
Contact information
Fisheries Management Team
Telephone: 0300 123 1032
E-mail: effort@marinemanagement.org.uk
Documents
Updates to this page
Published 26 January 2023Last updated 4 May 2023 + show all updates
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03 May 2023 update.
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03 May 2023 update.
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03 May 2023 update.
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First published.