Case #80438: Cockle Management, 27 September 2026

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

The case in brief

The prohibition was not in force at this closure on this date.

Case: #80438
Observation: Apparent fishing (satellite vessel tracking)
Closed area: Cockle Management (Byelaw XXIV)
What is prohibited there: bottom-towed gear prohibited
When: 2026-09-27 23:13 UTC → 2026-09-28 21:24 UTC
Position: 54.6505°, -1.0183°
Vessel: LIBERTY BF120
MMSI: 235001680
Flag: GBR
Gear (satellite-inferred): Trawlers
Length: 18.42 m
Home port: GARDENSTOWN

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 strong

Was it fishing, here, and then?
- 22.2 h of apparent fishing inside the closure.
Vessel unknown

What gear does this boat actually use?
- No hand-verified gear record for this vessel. GFW's inferred label is a behavioural guess and is documented to mislabel inshore creel boats as trawlers, so it cannot carry a case.
Rule strong

What was prohibited there, then, for that gear?
- NEIFCA Byelaw XXIV regulates the COCKLE fishery only. It imposes a permit requirement, a closed season of 1 May to 31 August, a hand-rake gear specification, a minimum size and a catch limit, all for the purpose of taking cockles. It does not prohibit trawling, dredging or any other bottom-towed gear for any other species, so a vessel trawling for prawns or whitefish is not within this measure and cannot breach it.

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.

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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 80438 — Cockle Management

The case in brief

How this case was judged

Check it yourself