Closed fishing areas
Details of all closures including who they apply to, coordinates, charts and geographic information system data.
To protect certain fish stocks or marine features there are a number of areas permanently or seasonally closed to various methods of fishing within English and EU waters.
At certain times of the year, Real Time closures may also be implemented to protect juvenile fish stocks.
Since January 2017 the MMO have not implemented Real Time closures in English waters, however you will still need to be aware of juvenile, seasonal or any other closures in areas managed by other member states. Details of closures within European marine sites (EMS) to protect environmental features, including who they apply to, coordinates, charts and geographic information system data can be found by following the links below in the guidance on environmental closures section.
A number of other closures are detailed in Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 - technical measures for the conservation of fisheries resources and Commission Regulation (EC) 494_2002 these are summarised in table’s 1 and 2 below, for full details please refer to the legislation or contact your local MMO office.
Please be aware that for vessels engaged in fisheries where the landing obligation (discard ban) applies, the landing obligation takes precedence and unintended catches must be retained and landed.
If you fish within the 6 nautical mile limit in English waters, or waters controlled by Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales there may be additional measures established by the relevant authorities. Please check with Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority (IFCAs), Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), Marine Scotland (MS) or the Welsh Government (WG) as appropriate.
If you are unsure which closures currently apply to the area you are fishing in please contact your local MMO office for further information.
Table 1 - Summary of closures as detailed in Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 and Commission Regulation (EC) 494_2002 applicable to UK waters
| Species | Area | Dates | Legislation | Gear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herring | Specified areas of North sea and Irish sea | Variable | Article 20 of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Towed gear with mesh less than 55mm Purse seines Gillnets with mesh less than 55mm |
| Herring | ICES IIa | 1 January 2018 to 28 February 2018 and 16 May 2018 to 31 December 2018 | Article 20(a) of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Towed gear with mesh less than 55mm Purse seines Gillnets with mesh less than 55mm |
| Sprat | North Sea | Variable | Article 21 of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Towed gear with mesh less than 32mm Purse seines Gillnets with mesh less than 30mm |
| Mackerel | VIIf and parts of VIIe and VIIg | All year | Article 22 of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Towed gear with mesh less than 70mm Purse seines |
| Common shrimps and Aesop shrimps | All | All year | Article 25 of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Demersal towed nets 16 – 31mm |
| Salmon and sea trout | Outside 6 mile limit | All year | Article 26 of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Towed nets |
| Norway pout | Specified areas of North sea | All year | Article 27 of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Towed gear with mesh less than 32mm |
| Sand eels | ICES sub-area IV | All year | Article 29(a) of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Towed gear with mesh less than 32mm |
| Haddock | ICES sub area VI | All year | Article 29(c) of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | All fishing apart from with longlines |
| Cod, haddock, whiting | ICES area VIa | All year | Article 29(d) of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Only inshore static nets fixed with stakes, scallop dredges, mussel dredges, hand-lines, mechanised jigging, draft nets and beach seines, pots and creels to be used |
| Cod | ICES sub area VII ICES rectangles 30E4, 31E4, 32E3 | February 1 to March 31 | Article 29(e) of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Only inshore static nets fixed with stakes, scallop dredges, mussel dredges, hand-lines, mechanised jigging, draft nets and beach seines, pots and creels to be used |
| Blue ling | ICES division VIIa | March 1 to 31 May 15 February to 15 April Depending on area | Article 29(f) of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Any fishing gear |
| Hake | Parts of VIIg and VIIh | All year (Part area exemption April to October) | Commission Regulation (EC) 494_2002 | No trawls 55-99mm no static nets less than 120mm |
Table 2 – Summary of closures as detailed in Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 applicable outside of UK waters
| Species | Area | Dates | Legislation | Gear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redfish | International waters of ICES sub area I and II | January 1 to 30 June | Article 29(g) of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Vessels with no track record in this area |
| Redfish | Irminger sea and adjacent waters | January 1 to May 10 | Article 29(h) of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Trawls with a mesh of less than 100mm |
| Norway lobster | West of the coast of Portugal | Various between 1 May and August 31 depending on area | Article 29(b) of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Bottom towed nets and creels |
| Hake | West of Bay of Biscay and West of the coast of Portugal | 1 October to end of February depending on area | Article 28 of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Danish seine or similar towed net |
| Plaice and sole | Various areas within 12 miles of the coasts of France, Denmark, Belgium and Netherlands | All year | Article 29 of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Danish seine or similar towed net for vessels over 8m in length |
| Anchovy | VIIIc | All year | Article 23 of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 | Pelagic trawls |