CAUGHT

Closed area · Devon & Severn IFCA

Cat 1 Annex 5 Area 1 and 2 (Mobile Fishing Permit Byelaw)

Bottom-towed gear prohibited

Mobile Fishing Permit Byelaw 2022 · in force since 2026-03-18

The closure boundary as published in the source dataset, simplified for display. Basemap © Esri, HERE, Garmin, OpenStreetMap contributors.

What the rule actually says

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 2026-09-03.

What is prohibited

Category One Mobile Fishing Permit Conditions, paragraph 7.5: a permit holder 'must not access the areas as defined by the co-ordinates set out in the attached Annex 5 ... (part of the Start Point to Plymouth Sound and Eddystone Special Area of Conservation and part of the Skerries Bank and Surrounds Marine Conservation Zone) with demersal mobile fishing gear unless: (a) the demersal mobile fishing gear is stowed on deck and no fishing is taking place; (b) ... used for fishing in the Area A ... in accordance with the periods set out in paragraph 11.4, table 1; (c) ... Area B ...; (d) ... Area D ...'.

As published with the boundary

No access in accordance with paragraph 7.5 of the Category One Mobile Fishing Permit Conditions unless the demersal mobile fishing gear is stowed on deck and no fishing is taking place.

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.

What is prohibited
Bottom-towed gear prohibited
Authority
Devon & Severn IFCA
Instrument
Mobile Fishing Permit Byelaw 2022 — article 1 · Mobile Fishing Permit Byelaw 2022 — article 2 · Mobile Fishing Permit Byelaw 2022 — article 3
Type
Permit Byelaw
In force since
2026-03-18
Area
494 km²
Cases CAUGHT observed here
0
Cases under review
0
Cases assessed and resolved
16

What satellites have recorded here

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.

See it on the live map All closures we watch How CAUGHT works