Real time closures
Real time closure (RTC) zones are areas in English waters that have been identified through sampling by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to contain a large percentage of juvenile fish.
It is illegal to fish with restricted fishing gear in a closed fishing area for the specified period that it is closed. If you don’t comply with the closure, you may be investigated, and this may lead to a fine.
MMO manages a system of RTC’s in English waters to help reduce;
- disruption to spawning grounds
- the number of juvenile fish caught
- the number of fish discarded
RTCs apply to all vessels licenced to fish in UK waters, 10 metres and over, that use the following restricted gears. Vessels under 10 metres are asked to comply voluntarily.
Restricted gears are
- demersal trawls and seines
- beam trawls
- fixed nets – gill, entangling and trammel
- long lines
Permitted gears within juvenile real time closures
- Pelagic trawls
- Purse seines
- Drift nets
- Jiggers targeting herring, mackerel, horse mackerel
- Pots
- Scallop dredges
- Gill nets
The details of the scheme are as follows
A representative sample from the start, middle and end of a haul will be weighed and measured if the haul contains 200kg of any mixture of cod, haddock, whiting or saithe.
| When | What the closure protects | Trigger level |
|---|---|---|
| Entire year | Juvenile species of cod (less than 35cm), haddock (less than 30cm), whiting (less than 27cm) and saithe (less than 35cm) | 10% of the sample, or 7.5% of the sample if more than 75% of the sample is cod |
Fish below the following sizes shall be regarded as juveniles
- cod 35cm
- haddock 30cm
- whiting 27cm
- saithe 35cm
RTC closures
Should an RTC be identified, an area of 50² nautical miles shall be closed for 21 days.
| RTC number | Closed until 23:59 on | Point | Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monday 12 January 2026 | A | 51° 28.8000’ N | 02° 0.6000’ E |
| B | 51° 28.8000’ N | 02° 11.8000’ E | ||
| C | 51° 21.8000’ N | 02° 11.8000’ E | ||
| D | 51° 21.8000’ N | 02° 0.6000’ E |
Further information If you would like to a confirmation of any closures, email ops@marinemanagement.org.uk