Unlicensed Fishing for Crabs and Lobsters

Overview

The Unlicensed Fishing for Crabs and Lobsters Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (the 2008 Regulations) permit individuals to fish for certain crab and lobster species in Northern Ireland’s inshore waters without a commercial fishing licence, but under specific conditions.

The 2008 Regulations allow unlicensed (recreational) fishing for edible (brown) crab, velvet crab, spider crab, green crab, and lobster. They are designed to restrict the scale of such activity to prevent commercial-scale exploitation under the guise of recreational fishing.

Recreational fishers are limited to the use of five pots and the catching of one lobster and five crabs per day. The 2008 regulations were a first step in managing recreational and part-time fishing activity. They did not include a requirement for registration, pot tagging, or catch recording and reporting.

Consultation

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) invites views on proposed amendments to the existing arrangements for recreational fishing for crabs and lobsters in Northern Ireland.

The consultation sets out proposals for recreational crab and lobster fishers to register with DAERA, for their pots to be tagged, and a requirement to submit records of their crab and lobster catches to DAERA.

It also provides an opportunity to remind those in the recreational sector of conservation measures that DAERA has enacted since the 2008 Regulations came into operation.

The overall objective behind the proposals is to improve the management and sustainability of crab and lobster stocks in Northern Ireland waters.

Why your views matter

DAERA has a statutory obligation to prepare and publish a fisheries management plan for non-quota shellfish species in Northern Ireland. 

There is currently no data on the scale or impact of recreational potting activity on crab and lobster stocks in Northern Ireland. This data gap presents a challenge for developing evidence-based policies for the management of these stocks.

These proposals are considered as a first step towards addressing that gap.

By introducing further regulatory measures, DAERA aims to gather the information necessary to assess the scale of this recreational activity and its ecological implications for crab and lobster stocks.

The proposed measures which are the subject of this consultation are therefore precautionary in nature, designed to improve traceability, support future stock assessments, and ensure that all fishing activity (commercial and recreational) contributes to the long-term sustainability of these important shellfish species.