Whelk Permit Byelaw 2016—permit conditions review consultation
Updated: 02/09/2020 – This consultation is now closed
Eastern IFCA are consulting with whelk permit holders as part of the review process for the Whelk Permit Byelaw 2016: the management mechanism for whelk fishing in the Eastern IFCA district. It is a responsibility of the byelaw that the permit conditions are reviewed every four years.
We are continually reflecting upon best practice approaches to fisheries management. This includes adapting our management with new information and evidence about the fishery from fishermen, scientific stock assessments and conservation advice.
Our 2020 assessment of the whelk fishery—click here to read a summary, read the full report here—has highlighted some risks to the sustainability of the fishery. To inform the development of new permit conditions for the fishery, we are seeking the views of industry in the context of the outputs of the assessment which has found that:
- Fishing effort in The Wash is too high for a sustainable fishery;
- Fishing effort on the North Norfolk Coast is likely to be at the maximum the stocks can sustain;
- The current Minimum Landing Size for whelks at Sea Palling is below the size of maturity for whelks (by 8mm);
- The current Minimum Landing Size for whelks at Lowestoft is below the size of maturity for whelks (by 2mm).
We do not currently know the form that new permit conditions will take. We will not finalise the new permit conditions until we have carefully considered comments from this consultation.
The deadline for responses to this consultation is midday on 1st September 2020.
Making your comments
This consultation is to seek the views of current whelk fishers in our district.
Click here to respond to the consultation by submitting a response to the questionnaire.
If you require a printed copy of this questionnaire, please contact the office and we will post you a physical copy. There are 8 main questions in the questionnaire. It should not take longer than 15 minutes to complete.
If you would prefer instead to write your response to this consultation, please send your responses addressed to: The CEO, to this address.
Your questions about the permit conditions
In-person meetings are always an important opportunity to discuss consultations and management. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are not hosting in-person meetings to discuss this consultation. Instead, we will be hosting a virtual Q&A session with our Senior Marine Science Officer Ron Jessop and CEO Julian Gregory.
This will take place on our Facebook page at [2pm] on Thursday the 13th August 2020. Click here to access our Facebook page. You do not need a Facebook account to participate in this Q&A session. If you do not have internet access, please continue to write to us with your questions.
What happens after the consultation closes?
After the consultation deadline when we have received all of the questionnaires and written responses, the results will inform the review of the permit conditions to be presented to the Authority at the meeting of the 9th September 2020 and will go on to inform the development of the new permit conditions.
Once developed, we will hold another consultation for you to view and comment on the new permit conditions, where again your considerations will be taken into account.
We are committed to meaningful engagement with industry to further understand the potential impacts of management decisions on fishery livelihoods. We take these into account alongside our obligations to maintain sustainable fisheries and healthy environments.
Further information
Information about the current permit conditions of the byelaw can be found here.
The complete version of the Whelk Permit Byelaw 2016 can be read here.
The information you provide will be processed in accordance with our privacy notice found here.