Northumberland IFCA will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting at Morpeth County Hall on Wednesday 28 August next at 1.00 pm with a view to making a seagrass protection byelaw and a byelaw prohibiting use of mobile fishing gear in both cases in the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast Special Area of Conservation.  This meeting will be open to the public.  Further details of these proposed byelaws can be found in Information Sheet No. 2 on this website.

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MH/pr                                                                                                         31 July 2013

INFORMATION SHEET NO. 3

 

REVISED APPROACH TO COMMERCIAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENTIN EUROPEAN MARINE SITES

NIFCA MEETING AT UNIT 60B SOUTH NELSON ROAD, CRAMLINGTON

ON THURSDAY 8TH AUGUST AT 5.00 PM

Attached to this Information Sheet is a copy of the NIFCA Press Release dated 24 July last regarding the above meeting.Below is a summary of the currently proposed draft byelaws:

 1.         Seagrass Protection Byelaw – this will prohibit any person in the Berwickshire & North Northumberland Coast Special Area of Conservation –

(a)       Digging for or fishing for any sea fisheries resource by hand or using any hand tool where seagrass is situated, and

(b)       Digging for or fishing for any sea fisheries resource or taking any sea fisheries resource using a mechanically powered device where seagrass is situated.

The above prohibition will not apply to (a) fishing for or taking of sea fisheries resources by means of a net, rod and line or a hook and line and (b) to fishing for or taking sea fisheries resources from a vessel provided no part of the vessel is in contact with the sea bed.

Prohibition on the use of mobile fishing gear within the Berwickshire & North Northumberland Coast SAC – this proposed byelaw will prohibit the use of any vessel with mobile fishing gear which is designed to be in contact with the seabed in the Berwickshire & North Northumberland Coast Special Area of Conservation (B&NNCSAC) and any vessel transiting through the B&NNCSAC with mobile fishing gear designed to be in contact with seabed must have all parts of the gear above the surface of the water – for the purposes of this byelaw a vessel with any part of its fishing gear in the water within the specified area will be deemed to be using the gear at the time.

 

Northumberland Inshore & Fisheries Conservation Authority continues to invite representations on these proposed byelaw measures for consideration including the public meeting on 8 August 2013 referred to in the heading to this document and prior to the final version of the byelaws being submitted to the Authority members and the Marine Management Organisation 14 days before the Authority meeting at Morpeth County Hall at 12.00 noon on Wednesday 28 August next, when the Authority will be asked to make these byelaws following which the byelaws will be formally advertised and there will be a six-week period of public consultation.

Dated this 31st day of July 2013

Michael H Hardy Chief Executive

Link to press release

 

 

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NIFCA Boundary