Closed area · Eastern IFCA
Bottom-towed gear prohibited
Marine Protected Areas Byelaw 2018 · in force since 2020-03-02
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 2026-11-09.
Schedule 2 paragraph 2: within Restricted Area 36 a person must not (a) fish with bottom towed gear, (b) fish by handwork, or (c) fish by crab tiling, year-round. Paragraph 1(b): "bottom towed gear" means any fishing gear designed to be towed, dragged or pushed through the water whilst in contact with the seabed. Paragraph 3: the prohibitions do not apply to angling (rod and line or hook and line). Paragraph 4: bottom towed gear must be secured and stowed in transit.
Rule reviewed against the instrument: Eastern IFCA Marine Protected Areas Byelaw 2018, Schedule 2, bans fishing with bottom towed gear (any gear designed to be towed, dragged or pushed along the seabed), handwork and crab tiling in Restricted Area 36 of the Humber Estuary SAC, year-round. Angling is exempt. There is no licence exception and no seine carve-out.
Closed to bottom towed gear and \\\'handwork\\\' fishing activity including crab-tiling. Spatial description: Specified area within the Humber Estuary Special Area of Conservation.
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.
No cases have been recorded in this closure. That is not a finding that nothing happens here — it means our sweeps have not flagged anything inside these boundaries, and coverage depends on satellite passes and on vessels being tracked at all.
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