Crabs, lobsters and whelks
The Sea Fisheries (Three Mile Area) (Lobster and Crab) Bye – Laws have now been introduced. They require that, from 1st September 2011, fishermen who fish with crab and lobster pots within the Islands three mile limit must mark their pots with an approved tag issued by the Department, in addition to fitting an escape panel of the correct size. The tags will have the following details indelibly marked on them:
- A unique motif common to all vessels so as to illustrate that it was issued by the Department.
- PLN of vessel.
- A unique serial number.
See below for a copy of the bye-laws.
In order to fish for crab or lobster within the Territorial Sea you must hold an Isle of Man fishing licence and an Isle of Man Crab and Lobster licence, in addition to the appropriate UK licence with shellfish entitlement. Click here to access the various Isle of Man licence application forms.
Rough Guide to the regulations relating to the crab and lobster fishery:
Requirements:
- UK licence with Shellfish entitlement
- Isle of Man fishing licence
- Isle of Man crab and lobster licence
Rules:
- The maximum number of pots which may be licensed is 500
- No more than 300 pots may be fished within the three mile limit
- All gear is to be clearly and indelibly marked
- The Department is to be notified of the whereabouts of any stock pot
- Minimum landing size: Crab- 130mm, Lobster 87mm.
A seperate Whelk Licence is required for fishing whelk pots within three miles of the Isle of Man. Please download an application form below or contact the Department for further details.
Guide to regulations
Minimum landing sizes apply, see document at the bottom of the page.
Every pot must have a marker attached which is marked clearly and indelibly, and should show the vessel number, and the number of pots to which the marker is attached.
There is a bag limit for non-commercial licence holders of one lobster and five crabs per day.
You can only use a stock cage if you hold a potting licence. You must write to the Department giving the exact location of the stock cage before you use it.
| Downloadable Documents | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
You will need Adobe Acrobat to download documents that are PDFs, this is available free by following this link:
