Closed area · Eastern IFCA
Trawling prohibited
Byelaw 12: Inshore Trawling Restriction · in force since 1970-01-01
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 2026-09-05.
Using any kind of trawl net when fishing for seafish within three nautical miles of the 1983 baselines in the Eastern IFCA District.
Byelaw 12, VERBATIM: "No person shall in fishing for seafish in that part of the District which lies within three nautical miles from the 1983 baselines use any kind of trawl net provided that this byelaw shall not apply to the use by any person of a trawl net in the following circumstances; (a) in connection with a vessel whose overall length does not exceed 15.24 metres in the area between a line drawn True East from the control tower at the Royal Air Force Gunnery and Bombing Range at Donna Nook ... to a line drawn True North from Blakeney Church ... or, (b) in connection with a vessel whose overall length does not exceed 15.24 metres in the area between a line drawn True North East from Mundesley Church ... to the northern edge of the causeway ... at Dovercourt ..."
THE EXCEPTIONS DO NOT REACH THE BLAKENEY-MUNDESLEY SECTOR. Exception (a) is scoped to Donna Nook-Blakeney and exception (b) to Mundesley-Dovercourt; the first derogation proviso runs Donna Nook-Blakeney and the second Mundesley-Covehithe. The water between Blakeney Church (52°57.05′N 001°01.60′E) and Mundesley Church (52°52.50′N 001°26.15′E), within three nautical miles, is named in NONE of them. In that sector trawling for seafish is prohibited for every vessel regardless of length, with no exception and no derogation available — which is exactly what Kingfisher’s own summary of this measure says, and it is correct.
All vessels (regardless of length) are prohibited from fishing with towed nets between Blakeny Church and Mundesley Church on the North Norfolk coast. Spatial description: Specified area.
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.
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