Closed area · Cornwall IFCA
Bottom-towed gear prohibited
Closed areas (European Marine Sites) No. 2 · in force since 2015-04-24
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 2026-10-23.
Paragraph 2: "No person shall use any bottom towed fishing gear in a prohibited area." Paragraph 3: a vessel transiting a prohibited area with bottom towed gear "must have all parts of the gear above the surface of the water", and a vessel with any part of its gear in the water inside a prohibited area "will be deemed to be using the gear at that time". Paragraph 4: "The prohibition in paragraphs 2 and 3 do not apply to the use: a) of pelagic trawls not in contact with the sea bed provided they are not used in any estuary or river; or b) of a vessel using bottom towed gear under an exemption issued by the Authority; or c) of oyster and mussel dredges used from a non-mechanically propelled vessel where: i. the dredges are only manually hauled; and ii. in the sea landward of a loxodromic line drawn from the southern extremity of Pendennis Point (50° 08.62’N and 005° 02.56’W) and the lighthouse at St Anthony Head (50° 08.47’N and 005° 00.96’W); and iii. the dredge has been granted a licence or permit of the Port of Truro Fishery Order 1936, or a succeeding Order." Paragraph 5(1): "the Authority may, on application by a person, issue an exemption authorising a vessel to use a bottom towed gear in the prohibited area of a type specified in the exemption", after an appropriate assessment under Part 6 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (5(2)), on conditions (5(3)), reviewed annually (5(4)). Paragraph 6 adds a separate written permission for scientific, stocking or breeding purposes.
No person shall use any bottom towed fishing gear in a prohibited area. Any vessel transiting through a prohibited area with bottom towed fishing gear must have all parts of the gear above the surface of the water.
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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