Every CAUGHT case is assessed on three independent questions, and
the weakest of the three decides. A case reads CAUGHT only when all three are
established and a person has reviewed it.
Activitymoderate
Was it fishing, here, and then?
Apparent fishing, but below the bar for a strong call (2.9 h, 1 bout(s), 0 AIS fix(es)).
We hold no AIS track for this vessel over this event (0 fixes), so the only measures available are GFW's own dwell and bout counts, which are fixed and do not improve on re-examination.
What would settle it: AIS coverage of this vessel during the event, or independent corroboration. Neither is obtainable by research — both need a data source we do not yet have.
Vesselunknown
What gear does this boat actually use?
The gear research on this vessel is closed: it was not established, and the case was resolved rather than left pending.
MOLLIE MAY PZ44 — Researched and not established, 2026-09-07 (cycle 67). IDENTITY WAS UPGRADED THIS CYCLE AND THE GEAR STILL COULD NOT BE STATED. Activity STRONG and rule STRONG on its one live case (61651, Lizard Closed Areas), so gear is the only blocker. The identity is now PLN-ANCHORED rather than name-matched: our MMO row gives MMSI 235103617, RSS B13159, PLN PZ44, 7.87 m, Newlyn admin and home port, and the MMO archive holds EXACTLY ONE hull of this name across 21 months, so there is no same-name rival to confuse. The operator's own site states 'Mollie May PZ44 is a 25ft Treeve built locally in Hayle. She's a licenced commercial fishing boat' - PLN, length and port all agree. WHAT IT DOES NOT STATE IS THE COMMERCIAL GEAR, and it was not inferred. A 25 ft Cornish day boat is very unlikely to tow bottom gear, but 'unlikely on the size' is precisely the inference this project refuses: it is how a 25 m trawler was once matched to a 5.9 m Kirkwall creeler. The MMO licence flags do not rescue it either - shellfish N, scallop N/A - so the creel-entitlement route does not apply. Recorded as not established rather than guessed either way. SEARCHED: molliemaycharters.co.uk operator page (fetched 2026-09-07 - confirms PZ44, 25 ft, Treeve, Hayle-built, Newlyn/Penzance/Porthleven; states no commercial gear); web search "Mollie May" Newlyn PZ potting/netting/handline; data/licence-history.json MMO archive (single hull B13159 = PZ44; no same-name rival). WHAT WOULD REOPEN IT: Any source stating PZ44's commercial method - a Newlyn Archive entry, an MMO gear record, a Cornwall IFCA permit list, or the operator stating it.
This is not a finding that the vessel did nothing. It withdraws a pending accusation, which is the safe direction — and it reverses the moment a source states the gear, because every verdict is re-derived from the data files on each request.
Ruleunknown
What was prohibited there, then, for that gear?
Rule reviewed and NOT resolved: The Closed Areas (European Marine Sites) No. 2 byelaw bans bottom towed gear here, but paragraph 4(b) disapplies the ban for any vessel using bottom towed gear under an exemption issued by Cornwall IFCA, which paragraph 5 allows the Authority to grant to a named vessel for a specified gear type. Cornwall IFCA publishes no list of exemptions issued, so it cannot be shown that a given vessel did not hold one. A breach is therefore not established from vessel tracking and gear alone.
Not established: vessel; rule.
A case is only as strong as its weakest factor, so this one cannot read CAUGHT until that is settled.
Check it yourself
Nothing here asks to be taken on trust. The full report sets out every source,
every measurement and everything we could not establish.
What this is, and what it isn't. A CAUGHT case is a reason to look,
not a verdict, and this page is not a finding that an offence took place. Vessel names
and identifiers come from publicly broadcast AIS data, which can be wrong or
mis-attributed. Most fishing inside UK marine protected areas is currently
legal; CAUGHT only flags places where a rule already exists.
If you own or operate this vessel and believe it has been mischaracterised, write to
contact@caught.org.uk — corrections are
welcomed and we publish them. Your right of reply is set out in our
terms.