Fisheries Directorate

Who we are and what we do

The Fisheries Directorate of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) undertakes to manage and protect fisheries and their supporting ecosystems within the Island and its territorial sea.

Licencing and enforcement are key to the management and protection of our fisheries. Monitoring of fishery stock levels and scientific-data assist our efforts; we also work with the fishing industry, anglers, wildlife and marine conservation groups and other stakeholders.

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Consultation alert - Proposals for fee changes to Isle of Man Sea Fishing Licence The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture is seeking your views on proposals on amendments to the fees payable in respect of the Isle of Man Sea Fishing Licence. The proposals are to: retain the current principle of a base Sea Fishing Licence and separate Species Specific Licences and to charge separate fees for each introduce a wider range of Species Specific Licences and to charge different fees for Species Specific Licences in relation to certain species, based on the average value of landings per vessel per annum apply a tiered structure to both the base Sea Fishing Licence and to all Species Specific Licences based on vessel length (Overall Length) to reflect the relationship between vessel length and the number of days spent at sea set licence fees that aim to achieve cost recovery of approximately 33% against a range of budgets totalling £697,000 The consultation seeks views on proposals designed to introduce a licence fee which is: fair and balanced better reflects the Department's costs representative of the benefit of the licence to the holder The consultation can be completed online or downloaded on the Consultation Hub - closes on 16 April 2018