The NWIFCA Technical Science and Byelaws Sub-committee has approved the authorisation of a restricted cockle fishery at Leasowe cockle bed, North Wirral Foreshore from Monday 30th September. All current NWIFCA Byelaw 3 permit holders must ensure they understand the conditions under which they are authorised to gather cockles by hand. Gathering of cockles by any other person is not authorised and is a breach of NWSFC Byelaw 13A and NWIFCA Byelaw 3. The fishery is only open 3 days each week (Monday to Wednesday). Weekly returns are required by Thursday 1700hrs each week. A Total Allowable Catch of 400 tonnes has been set to ensure there is sufficient cockle food resource remaining from the fishery for protected overwintering bird species. Click here to view the full authorisation. Access Permits You must obtain access permits from Safe Water to use your quad bike. The contact details for Safe Water are listed below: Safe Water Training Sea School Ltd. 68 Victoria Parade New Brighton Wirral CH45 2PH Telephone: 0151 630 0466 E-Mail: [email protected]

The following beds will open on the 1st September 2019: Newbiggin (Click here to view Map) Leven Sands Flookburgh East side of Pilling (Click here to view Maps) Bed Closures Cockle Beds in the Ribble Estuary All cockle beds will be closed under NWSFC Byelaw 16 following the end of the closed season on 1st September. Leasowe (Wirral) Cockle Fishery To remain closed under NWSFC Byelaw 13a – ‘Cockle and Mussels – Management of the Fishery’ until further notice. In order for the NWIFCA to authorise a fishery at Leasowe a Habitats Regulations Assessment must be carried out that shows sufficient stock will remain for protected birds over the winter. There is also a need to show that areas will remain that are undisturbed by fishing activity for the birds. Discussions are on-going with Natural England to agree whether a fishery could be opened without causing a risk to the protected birds and what TAC would need to be set. The fishery will not open on 1st September but it is hoped that it will be possible to open it for a limited fishery at the earliest opportunity. Please come back to check on NWIFCA website for further updates. Cockle…

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…

The Marine Management Organisation’s West of Walney Marine Conservation Zone (Specified Area) Bottom Towed Fishing Gear Byelaw 2018 was signed off by Defra on 4th June 2019. The Byelaw will come into force on 4th July 2019. You can read the full text of the byelaw on the MMO’s website here.

The Environment Secretary Michael Gove has announced the Government’s next steps in protecting England’s precious marine environment with a new review to examine whether and how the strongest protections for areas of sea, known as Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), could be introduced. This announcement follows the government’s manifesto commitment to create a Blue Belt of marine protection for Britain’s overseas territories and its own coast, and builds on the ambition of the 25 Year Environment Plan. As the strongest form of marine protection, new Highly Protected Marine Areas could help protect England’s precious coastline by closing off specific areas to any human activity with the potential to cause harm. Targeted Highly Protected Marine Areas would complement the existing network of Marine Conservation Zones, which just last week expanded by a further 41 areas, and allow vulnerable marine wildlife to fully recover, free from all damaging human activities, with the aim of restoring areas to a pristine state. Together this would mark the most significant expansion of England’s ‘Blue Belt’ of protected areas to date, as well supporting the government’s international efforts in calling for 30% of the world’s oceans to be protected by 2030. The review, led by Richard…

Blue Marine Foundation has published a study calling for national management of the common whelk. The study shows that whelks are caught before they have the chance to reproduce as whelks reach maturity at different sizes in different areas. In England, the size of maturity varies between 45mm up to 78mm depending on where they are located. It also found that there is very little mixing between stocks around the UK. For more information you can read the full study on the Blue Marine Foundations website here.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove has today created 41 new Marine Conservation Zones, marking the most significant expansion of England’s ‘Blue Belt’ of protected areas to date. Stretching from Cornwall to Northumberland, the new protections safeguard 12,000 square kilometres of marine habitat, an area almost eight times the size of Greater London. Today’s announcement follows the government’s manifesto commitment to create a Blue Belt of marine protection for Britain’s overseas territories and its own coast, and builds on the ambition of the 25 Year Environment Plan. The rare stalked jellyfish, short-snouted seahorse and blue mussel beds are among the species and habitats that will benefit from the protections. With 50 zones already designated in 2013 and 2016, the UK now has 355 Marine Protected Areas of different types, spanning 220,000 square km – nearly twice the size of England. Environment Secretary Michael Gove said: “The UK is already leading the rest of the world by protecting over 30% of our ocean – but we know there is more to do. Establishing this latest round of Marine Conservation Zones in this Year of Green Action is another big step in the right direction, extending our blue belt to safeguard precious and diverse sea life…

The birds at St Bees are back on the cliffs again for the summer, and the Colourful Coast Partnership needs your help once again to record whether they’re being disturbed. The Colourful Coast Partnership is working with the RSPB, Natural England and Royal Yachting Association to recruit volunteers to take a walk up onto St Bees Head and observe the colonies for any disturbance, whether it comes from the air, the land or the sea. Dave Blackledge, RSPB site manager, said ‘The bird numbers are increasing every year, which is great, but we need to understand if the birds are getting disturbed while they’re on the cliffs or on the water as this can affect their ability to raise healthy chicks or fish for food. We know that boats and climbers can sometimes unintentionally disturb the birds but we also want to know if there’s anything else, like birds of prey or drones, which could be having an effect’ Volunteers will be asked to go out once a fortnight and observe the seabirds from certain points along St Bees Head throughout the summer months, recording any interesting sightings. It’s not just skilled bird watchers who can get involved. Sophie Badrick…

The Morecambe Bay Partnership (MBP) are looking to hire a Nature and Wildlife Officer. Brief details of the post can be found below. Full details can be found on the MBP Website. This post is for a vacancy with an external agency and is not a position within the North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority. Job Title: Nature and Wildlife Officer Salary: £25,000 to £26,000 (pro-rata) Office: The Factory, Aynam Road, Kendal Line Manager: Morecambe Bay Partnership Chief Executive Reporting to: Morecambe Bay Partnership Trustees Board Contract: Fixed term, 12-14 months with possibility of extension Hours: 22-26 hrs/week – some flexibility to suit the preferred candidate Purpose of the role: Manage delivery of nature and wildlife programmes for Morecambe Bay Partnership, with an initial focus on roosting and breeding birds. Develop and deliver a Bay-wide awareness raising campaign; engage existing and new audiences, young and old, local and visiting; recruit, train and support volunteers and develop an understanding of issues relating to roosting and nesting wildfowl and wader conservation, and a sense of pride and celebration in the Bay’s natural heritage. Motivate and support framers and land mangers to increase the nature conservation value of their land. Develop and…

North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority are focusing work on obtaining evidence to show the absence of the non-native Chinese Mitten Crab around Barrow, and other parts of Morecambe Bay. With fishermens’ permission, IFCOs have inspected crab tiles and fishermen have been asked to keep a watchful eye and report what they are finding under the tiles to us. Every report helps to build up a picture which is needed to show areas where mussel from the Bay goes for aquaculture is non-native free. If you check your tiles and only find shore crabs we could do with knowing that. If you find a crab that you suspect is a Chinese Mitten Crab please follow the guidance available here. We have also been directed by Defra to collect data on crab tiling activity along with other bait collection and hand-gathering. All IFCAs have been instructed to assess these activities in Marine Protected Areas. NWIFCA does NOT anticipate that the levels of activity in NWIFCA District will require any management. Accurate data is needed to show this. We have an online questionnaire for bait collectors to assist us in getting the full picture. If you’d like to help us please…

An exciting opportunity as arisen with the Marine Futures Internship Programme. The internship programme is funded by The Crown Estate and will be project managed by the North West Wildlife Trusts. The programme is run in partnership with The Crown Estate, the North West Wildlife Trusts, Ørsted and Natural England(known as the partner organisations). The programme will provide one highly motivated individual, interested in a career in the marine environment, to gain a range of skills and work-based experience required for employment within the sector, as well as an insight into different potential job roles. Each partner organisation will provide opportunities for the intern to develop skills in specialist areas including, marine conservation advice, sustainable fisheries management, renewable energy development, marine policy, and community engagement. The successful intern will follow a varied schedule whilst on the programme that will allow them to gain a range of skills and experiences including: working in different office environments; conducting an independent research project; writing for different audiences; working with local communities to raise awareness about environmental issues; undertaking surveys and field work; the use of social media in the workplace; and delivering media interviews and presentations. Contact Details and Full Job Advert For further information, contact details and the…

As part of the development of Byelaw 3 Cockle and Mussel Hand Fishing Permit 2019, NWIFCA  are conducting further informal consultation with all stakeholders on the management measures included in the new byelaw. This represents all stakeholders’ opportunity to have input into the proposed management measures. The comments will be anonymised and reported to the Technical Science and Byelaws Sub-Committee (TSB) on Tuesday 14 May 2019. Please send comments on the draft byelaw in writing to the addresses below. Click here to download a copy of the draft Byelaw 3. Please submit all comments in writing by email or post to [email protected] Post: NWIFCA, 1 Preston Street, Carnforth, Lancashire, LA5 9BY The deadline for stakeholder input is Wednesday 1 May 2019.