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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Notifications
2018 Queen scallop quota allocation A Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 794 tonnes has been agreed by the Scallop Management Board and DEFA for the 2018 queen scallop fishery. This has been sub-divided into a TAC of 697 tonnes for the trawl fishery and 97 tonnes for the dredge fishery, based on the number of vessels participating in each. The trawl TAC of 697 tonnes has been further subdivided by area as follows: Following an industry-led survey, a TAC of 64 tonnes has been allocated to the inshore Targets area within IS9 and south of a line of latitude of 54 degrees 24 minutes as indicated on the map below. Fishing activity within this area will be monitored by VMS and Nestform submission and the area will close once the TAC of 64 tonnes has been achieved. A TAC of 25 tonnes has been allocated for the Ramsey Bay fishery which is only accessible to MFPO members under licence. The remaining TAC of 608 tonnes is allocated to the remainder of the territorial sea (excluding Ramsey bay and the inshore Targets area as detailed above). Uptake against the TAC is monitored closely and weekly updates are provided at: www.gov.im/scallopupdates For further information, please contact the Fisheries Directorate at fisheries.gov.im Area covered by 64 tonne TAC shown in red (map for illustrative purposes only)
Gas Networks Ireland Interconnector Pipelines - Subsea Inspection - notification of 2018 Inspection Survey – update 8 August 2018 Brief details of the purpose of the survey: The purpose is to perform a routine subsea survey to monitor and report on the condition of the Gas Networks Ireland Interconnector Pipelines by means of remote (i.e. non-contact) offshore ROV inspection and nearshore inspection. The pipelines to be inspected include: The Isle of Man Spur Pipeline – 10” pipeline running from the IOM Tee to Glen Mooar The Isle of Man Control Umbilical – 3” umbilical from the IOM Tee to Glen Mooar The Isle of Man Tee – Subsea Tee with protective structure
Offshore Inspection Survey The latest update on the Offshore inspection survey is that the offshore survey vessel ("EDT Hercules") will mobilise in Dublin on 10 August and commence operations approx. 11/12 August. The entire workscope is anticipated to take 30/40 days and the survey will commence at the Irish end of the pipelines. The expected dates the EDT Hercules will be in Isle of Man waters are as follows: IC1 - 15 to 20 August IC2 and IOMS – 21 August to 14 September A more accurate prediction of the IC2/IOMS dates will be provided once work is completed on IC1. For the duration of the offshore and nearshore inspection surveys, a 250m fishing exclusion zone is required either side of each of the pipelines). In order to minimise the time that the exclusion zone is in force, DEFA will be notified as soon as survey operations are complete and the exclusion zone is no longer required. The survey will be managed by Wood Plc on behalf of GNI. The project surveyor who can be contacted for further details is: Matthew Kane Project Surveyor - Wood Plc matthew.kane@woodplc.com +44 (0) 1784 417200