Over 40 fishing offences in Jersey’s waters over 10 months

Sunday 12 November 2023

Jersey's Marine Resources Department have identified a total of 42 fishing offences within a ten-month period during patrols – with the most common offence being undersized fishing.

In response to Deputy Moz Scott's inquiry, Environment Minister Jonathan Renouf shed light on the department's boat patrols and inspections, which monitor fishing activity and inspect catches in Jersey's waters.

Two vessels are used for these patrols: FPV Norman Le Brocq, primarily for offshore operations, gear inspections, and research, and FPV Ecrehou, a lightweight Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) used for ‘rapid response’ inshore operations and areas inaccessible to the main vessel.

Checks are conducted to ensure fishing regulations are adhered to.

Pictured: Deputy Jonathan Renouf, the Environment Minister. 

The patrol data used in the Environment Minister’s recent response spans from 1 January 2023 to 13 October 2023, covering 286 calendar days.

During the 2023 patrols, Marine Resources carried out 75 inspections of fishing catch and 26 inspections of gear, leading to the identification of 42 offences over the 10-month period.

With 16 offences recorded, undersized fishing was the most common thing that fishers were penalised for.

Among these 16 offences, four were still in progress, five received verbal warnings, and seven cases led to written warnings. 

Undersized fishing applies to certain species for which there is a minimum sized prescribed in law to protect fish populations.

This means that any undersized fish or shellfish must be put back to allow them to reach sexual maturity and reproduce – generally the bigger the fish or shellfish, the more eggs are produced.

Fishing without a licence resulted in two offences, with one receiving a verbal warning and one still in progress. 

Commercial fishing from boats requires licenses that contain certain conditions, to protect the marine environment and fish stocks for the future.

Jersey generally does not require licences for recreational fishing as it has a lesser impact on stock compared with commercial fishing.  

In order to regulate recreational fishing, regulations have been enacted to protect certain species with a daily limit on the amount of that species that can be caught and kept. 

There were three offences exceeding these limits, with one being dealt with a Parish Hall inquiry while the other two received verbal warnings.

Three offences of fishing inside a prohibited area were also reported, leading to one case with no further action, and two receiving a written warning. 

There is a no-take zone in Portlet, which bans fishing in the bay, but other areas restrict certain types of fishing gear.

For example, parlour pots for catching shellfish are prohibited at Les Minquiers and Les Ecrehous offshore reefs, and no trawling or dredging is allowed in areas such as St Aubin's Bay, off the north coast. or at the offshore reefs.

Pictured: The Marine Resources Department carries out regular enforcement patrols around the island and at the offshore reefs to monitor fishing activity and check catches.

For out-of-season fishing, a total of six offences of fishing occurred – with five still in progress and one resulting in a written warning. 

Seasonal restrictions aim to protect certain species like ormers and bass during their spawning periods to give them a chance to reproduce. 

Marine Resources documented nine gear-related offences, with two cases resulting in gear seizure, four in warning labels attached to gear, and three in written warnings. 

These offences relate to issues like unmarked gear – which is a problem as marine authorities will not be able to identify who is responsible for the gear in case of illegal fishing activities.

Other issues include not having escape gaps in parlour pots used to catch lobsters and crabs to allow the juvenile ones to escape, or using nets with smaller mesh sizes than prescribed in the regulations.

Deputy Scott explained the reason behind her inquiry, explaining that the question was a follow-up to a debate in February 2022.

She explained: "At the time of the debate, local fishermen were concerned about inequity in treatment both in France and Jersey of local/French fishermen and enforcement of the regulations locally particularly against the French who had/have larger boats in their fleet.

“I hoped to establish how active the vessels had been in policing, in particular catch size, which tracking devices on fishing boats would not reveal to Jersey's authorities."