Commercial fishing

Whelk Licencing 3-12NM In light of imminent consultation on proposals to cap effort in the whelk fishery within the territorial sea, the Department is introducing a moratorium on the ability of new licence holders to prosecute the whelk fishery between 3-12 Nautical Miles (nm). Licences to fish within the territorial sea issued after 1st March 2017 will not include authority to fish for whelks between 3-12nm. Existing licensing arrangements for vessels fishing between 0-3nm and for vessels holding a valid Isle of Man Fishing Licence, issued prior to the above date fishing between 3-12nm, currently remain unaltered.

The main fisheries undertaken in the Isle of Man’s territorial sea (12 nautical miles) are for king scallop, queen scallop, crab, lobster and whelk. For details about exploiting these fisheries commercially from a registered-fishing vessel, please see IOM Licencing.

UK and IOM fishing licence conditions and variations are available on this website.

Vessel owners and masters fishing our territorial sea should also be aware of the following:

restricted or closed areas
commercial fishing – guidance notes for logbooks and VMS
surveys taking place

What business support and assistance is available for this industry?

Please see Fisheries Grants, check out Business Support and Assistance or contact the Fisheries Directorate.

Consultation on New Controls in the Queen Scallop Fishery in ICES Divisions VIa and VIIa

The UK and Isle of Man Fisheries Administrations want to know what you think about proposals to improve how the UK queen scallop fishery is managed in future. These improvements will help protect queen scallop stocks and build on the data and evidence collected.

The proposals include:

Increase the MLS of queen scallops
Introduce a voluntary closed season
Introduce limits on the number of vessels able to access the fishery, specifically via entry restrictions

Views on longer-term management options are also sought, including: