Closed areas · By rule
23 closures where dredging is prohibited, watched from space. Together they cover 16.8 thousand km².
A scallop dredge is a rigid steel frame with a toothed bar that is dragged across the seabed to dig scallops out of it, usually several dredges to a tow bar. Of all the gear in UK waters it makes the most direct physical contact with the seabed, which is why some closures name it specifically rather than banning towed gear in general.
Dredging is also the one gear where the UK licensing system gives a usable signal: a scallop licence is recorded against a vessel, and its absence alongside a shellfish licence is good evidence that a boat works creels rather than dredges. CAUGHT uses that both ways round — to clear boats that cannot lawfully dredge at all, and as corroboration where a dredge is alleged.
A case is a reason to look, not a verdict — most are examined and resolved. Every case is judged on three independent factors and nothing reads CAUGHT until all three are strong and a person has reviewed it. How a case is made.
By rule: No-take zones Bottom-towed gear Trawling All seabed fishing
By nation: Scotland England Wales Northern Ireland Isle of Man Jersey
The full A–Z of all closures · Download the closure dataset · See live cases on the map