Case #22053: St Andrews Bay, 20 July 2026

The closed area is outlined; the marker is where the activity was recorded. Basemap © Esri, HERE, Garmin, OpenStreetMap contributors.

The case in brief

This vessel's gear (creel/pots) does not work the seabed, so a seabed closure does not reach it.

Case: #22053
Observation: Apparent fishing (satellite vessel tracking)
Closed area: St Andrews Bay (SSI 2004 No. 276)
What is prohibited there: bottom-towed gear prohibited
When: 2026-07-20 07:26 UTC → 2026-07-20 07:47 UTC
Position: 56.2919°, -2.6121°
Vessel: OUR CARRIE KY384
MMSI: 235118668
Flag: GBR
Gear (satellite-inferred): Dredge Fishing
Gear (verified by hand): Creel/Pots — medium confidence
Length: 9.82 m
Home port: PITTENWEEM

How this case was judged

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.

Activity weak

Was it fishing, here, and then?
- No movement analysis on this case — it predates the transit check, so fishing and transiting cannot be separated.
Vessel strong

What gear does this boat actually use?
- Gear established as creel/pots, which does not work the seabed.
- Holds a creel/pot licence (MMO) and no scallop licence.
Rule strong

What was prohibited there, then, for that gear?
- Rule reviewed against the instrument: SSI 2004/276 article 3(1) prohibits fishing for sea fish with a trawl, Danish seine or similar net, purse seine, ring net or dredge (including a suction dredge) here, and Schedule 1 item 30 sets the period at '1st January to 31st December in each year'. The row carries no excepted method, so the article 4 exception does not reach this closure.

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.

Full evidence pack Open on the live map About this closure How CAUGHT works

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.

Case 22053 — St Andrews Bay

The case in brief

How this case was judged

Check it yourself