The Heysham Flat Seed Mussel fishery will open under authorisation for all Byelaw 3 permit holders on 22/7/19.
All gatherers must read the authorisation available below and for download here.
Access permits are available from Lancaster City Council.
AUTHORISATION TO FISH UNDERSIZED MUSSELS FROM HEYSHAM FLAT SKEAR 2019
All current Byelaw 3 permit holders are hereby authorised, under Byelaw 3, paragraph 6 (Minimum Sizes) to fish undersized mussels from Heysham Flat, in the permitted fishing and transiting area as defined in paragraph 2 and illustrated in Annex A, and are responsible for complying with the conditions given below at paragraph 1.
1. Conditions of Authorisation
This authorisation is issued subject to the following conditions:
(a) It is only valid for the period from 22/07/2019 to 31/12/2019, excluding Bank Holiday Monday 26th August 2019.
(b) That the mussels shall only be gathered by hand or with a rake.
(c) That fishing shall take place only from Monday to Friday inclusive, during daylight hours, defined as one hour before sunrise and one hour after sunset.
(d) The NWIFCA will close the fishery during periods of prolonged cold weather.
(e) The authorisation is only valid for current Byelaw 3 permit holders. It does not allow any other person to take or remove undersized mussels.
(f) This authorisation does not exonerate the holder from other sea fisheries legislation, nor does it prejudice any other consents the holder may need to obtain nor does it override or provide permission to go over private land.
(g) Any fishing taking place under this authorisation shall be carried out in accordance with the Authority’s Code of Conduct for Intertidal Shellfisheries.
(h) Fishing and transit by ATVs (quad bikes) is only permitted in the area as defined in paragraph 2 and illustrated in Annex A
2. Definition of Permitted Fishing and Transiting Area
The permitted fishing and transiting area is the area enclosed by a straight line connecting points A, B, C, D, E, F in order, and returning to point A along the line of the Highest Astronomic Tide.
| Point | Latitude
(decimal degrees) |
Longitude
(decimal degrees) |
Latitude (degrees, decimal minutes) | Longitude (degrees, decimal minutes) |
| A | 54.06649 | -2.88942 | 54° 3.989′ N | 2° 53.365′ W |
| B | 54.05721 | -2.91494 | 54° 3.432′ N | 2° 54.896′ W |
| C | 54.05659 | -2.91802 | 54° 3.395′ N | 2° 55.081′ W |
| D | 54.05344 | -2.91756 | 54° 3.206′ N | 2° 55.053′ W |
| E | 54.05608 | -2.91151 | 54° 3.364′ N | 2° 54.690′ W |
| F | 54.05868 | -2.89268 | 54° 3.520′ N | 2° 53.560′ W |
3. Advisory Notice
(a) When fishing, or when operating vehicles in the vicinity of Heysham Flat Skear, take care to avoid live colonies of the Honeycomb Worm. These are a protected species and damaging them could lead to a fine of up to £20,000, revoking of authorisations and closure of the fishery.
(b) NWIFCA officers have the power to withdraw authorisations at any point should the need arise and will consult with Natural England throughout the duration of the fishery. Should there be concerns that losses of mussel around Morecambe Bay will impact on the available bird feeding resource, the NWIFCA will withdraw authorisations and close the fishery.
(c) Avoid driving vehicles over the seed mussels as far as possible Using a single access route will avoid unnecessary damage to the mussel stock.
This authorisation may be revoked by the NWIFCA at any time and any breach of the terms or conditions of this authorisation shall make it null and void.
Annex A – Heysham Flat Seed Mussel Permitted Fishing and Transiting Area 2019 – Protection of Sabellaria alveolata on the fringes of the skear
