Chief Executive Officer North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority  Location: Carnforth, Lancashire  Salary: £55,077 to £74,310 (starting point according to experience, increase subject to annual assessments).   Pension: Local Government scheme (defined benefits and employer contributions).  Relocation Expenses: Up to £10,000 subject to negotiation within the terms of our relocation policy.  Hours: Full time (applicants should be aware that this post routinely requires travel within the District and the UK to attend meetings and thus involves regularly working in the early morning, evening, weekends and overnight).   Contract Type: Permanent  BPSS Check: This will be carried out prior to appointment  We are looking for an experienced, skilled and highly motivated leader for our 21 dedicated staff to be based at our head office in Carnforth, Lancashire.  North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NWIFCA) is one of the largest of the ten IFCAs in England.  NWIFCA is a statutory authority, established in 2010 under the Marine & Coastal Access Act 2009.  We are responsible for regulating and managing inshore sea fisheries and striking the balance between sustaining the marine environment and protecting the social and economic interests of our fishing communities.  The NWIFCA District spans 8 local authority boundaries from Wirral,…

The Policy Lab have recently launched an online ‘co-refine’ survey for everyone with an interest and stake in bass fishing in England and Wales – this is Policy Lab’s last engagement activity before handing the work to Defra. Please follow THIS link to access the survey. We would kindly ask you to circulate the survey to your contacts and also consider completing it yourself.   The survey builds on the findings from the ‘co-design’ workshops and survey, which took place in autumn and engaged around 550 stakeholders. They agreed on a set of priorities for the new FMP, which are presented within this co-refine survey for stakeholders to comment on. The survey takes around 15 minutes to complete and it will be open until Sunday 4 December 2022, 23:59. Many thanks for your help, Bass FMP: Survey (google.com)

Penfold cockle fishery is open from Wednesday 26th October Please see attached revised permit conditions for the fishery. Penfold Cockle Fishery Byelaw 3 Flexible Permit Conditions 2022 (pdf)

NWIFCA has now received the classification for Penfold Cockle Fishery and this will now open on Wednesday afternoon. Flexible permit conditions will be posted on this website tomorrow.

“NWIFCA have not received notification of the classification of the Penfold cockle therefore the fishery cannot open today 24th or 25th October. The fishery will open as soon as the results are received. An update will be provided as soon as NWIFCA have more information”

NWIFCA have once again been awarded a silver award by the Ministry of Defence Recognition Scheme for continued support to Defence and the armed forces community. The scheme was launched to reward employers who support defence personnel objectives, including employing serving and former members of the armed forces community and demonstrating flexibility towards training and mobilisation commitments for reservists and cadet volunteers. The awards ceremony took place at the Marine Hall in Fleetwood on the 6th October. The award was presented to Mr Phil Capper, Chair of the Authority and Mr Joe Moulton Acting CEO by Lord Shuttleworth the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire.

It is with deep sadness that the Authority joins the nation in mourning the loss of our Sovereign HM Queen Elizabeth. Our thoughts, prayers and sincerest condolences are with the Royal Family. We thank you Ma’am for your unrivalled dedication and service, to our Nation, the Realms and the Commonwealth our “strength and stay” for 70 years. May you now rest in peace. God Save The King    

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) will publish a new Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) for sea bass in 2023. DEFRA and Policy Lab are working together to co-create the new plan with a diverse range of individuals and interest groups in this space, and we are inviting you to get involved! Please see link for further details PL171 Bass FMP Pop Up Research Flyer Barrow

Due to a delay, from our suppliers unfortunately we are still waiting for tags to be delivered. Therefore the need to have these in place by the 7th of July has been removed. As soon as we receive them they will be posted out to permit holders together with the permit stickers,  These should then be applied to your pots etc within 7 days of receipt.

The Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships (FISP) scheme, part of the £100m UK Seafood Fund, will open its next round on 1 August. Bidding will be open until midday on 5 September. A final round is also planned for later in the year opening 21 November and closing at the end of December. The UK Seafood Fund has been extended to 2025 so applicants will be able to apply for funding for two-year projects with a maximum value of £1 million (or £500,000 per year).We will also retain a separate opportunity to bid for projects up to £150k, as has been offered in both previous rounds We have also expanded our list of eligible research projects to include research on wider factors which impact fish stocks, such as offshore wind farms and climate change. You will be able to access the opportunity through our gov.uk page once the scheme opens. For further details on the scheme, please visit here. You can also read about successfully awarded FISP projects here.    

Defra have today launched a 3 month consultation  on HPMA which can be accessed at: Consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) – Defra – Citizen Space This includes the candidate site, Allonby Bay in Cumbria. A factsheet is provided in relation to each site. Defra. are planning public meetings in relation to each site. Cllr Markley has suggested some possible venues in the Allonby Bay area. The consultation will be put on the website and may be circulated to anyone interested.  

Cefas are currently investigating the health of the edible crab population around the English coast, and would welcome your expert input by asking you to complete their survey. Please find the link below.   Edible Crab Health Survey (office.com)