Closed area · Welsh Government
Dredging prohibited
Inshore Fishery Legislation SWSFC Byelaw 40: Bivalve Molluscan Shellfish - Methods Of Fishing · in force since 2010-04-01
A CAUGHT review has read the instrument behind this closure, rather than relying on the summary published with the boundary. Where the two differ, the instrument governs; this reading was made on 2026-09-01.
Fishing for, taking or removing any species of BIVALVE MOLLUSC (which includes scallops, mussels, cockles and clams).
Read from the published summary of the measure rather than from the byelaw as made: the South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee byelaws were not obtained as a primary document. The scoping conclusion — that the prohibition reaches bivalve shellfish and not finfish — follows directly from that wording, and is recorded here as able to clear a vessel but never to support an accusation, until the byelaw itself has been read.
Species-scoped to bivalve molluscs. Broader than the Scallop Order: it reaches mussel dredging as well as scallop dredging. It does not reach finfish or crustacean fishing.
No person shall fish for or take or remove any species of bivalve mollusc.
Summary as published in the source dataset, shown for comparison. A dataset paraphrase can be narrower or wider than the instrument it summarises, and finding out which is the work above.
Vessels are named only on cases that read CAUGHT and have been examined by a reviewer. Every other case is linked without a name: most are resolved, and naming a boat on a page about the closure would carry an accusation the assessment does not support.
What a case here means. A CAUGHT case is a reason to look, not a verdict. Each one is judged on three independent factors — was it fishing, here and then; what gear does the vessel actually use; and what was prohibited there at that time — and the weakest of the three decides. Most cases are resolved.
Boundaries and rule summaries come from the published datasets named at the foot of this page and can contain errors; the legislation is the authority. If you believe this closure is described wrongly, tell us at contact@caught.org.uk.
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