The Marine Management Organisation has opened a consultation on a proposed seasonal closure for the crawfish fishery in English waters of ICES area 7 for winter 2026 to spring 2027. According to the MMO's notice, the survey closes at 11.59pm on 12 May 2026 and is aimed at fishers and other stakeholders with an interest in the stock. (gov.uk) The agency has also made clear that some views have already been captured through earlier engagement. Stakeholders who gave feedback at events held earlier in 2026 do not need to complete the online survey again, because those responses have already been recorded. (gov.uk)
The published options all begin on 22 November 2026, described by the MMO as the end of the last neap tide. Respondents are being asked to comment on three end dates: 31 May 2027, 10 June 2027 or 24 June 2027, with a further option allowing an alternative period to be suggested. (gov.uk) As drafted, the measure would prohibit retaining and landing crawfish, identified as Palinurus spp, in English waters of ICES sub-area 7. The proposal would apply to all UK and EU vessels and across all gear types, so the consultation is, in practical terms, focused chiefly on the duration of the closure rather than on narrowing its scope to a particular fleet segment. (gov.uk)
The MMO's stated case for a seasonal closure is threefold. The consultation says the aim is to protect breeding and spawning opportunities, reduce mortality associated with catching crawfish when they are in poor condition and when bad weather can lead to long net soak times or net loss, and support future stock growth by allowing juvenile settlement. (gov.uk) Taken together, that rationale presents the proposal as both a conservation measure and a response to the operational risks of the winter fishery. In other words, the published case is not limited to stock biology alone; it also links management of the stock to how weather and fishing practice can affect mortality. (gov.uk)
This consultation sits within a wider programme of tighter crawfish management in the South West. The MMO says seasonal closures began in 2024, with the first running from 5 February 2024 to 30 April 2024, the second from 16 December 2024 to 31 May 2025, and the current third closure running from 17 November 2025 to 31 May 2026. (gov.uk) Size regulation has also been strengthened. The consultation page states that the increased minimum conservation reference size of 110 millimetres was moved from a licence condition into statute in December 2024, and the Sea Fisheries (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2024 provide that a 110 mm minimum conservation reference size applies to crawfish in the English zone. (gov.uk)
According to the MMO, officials held a workshop in Newlyn in February 2026 and a meeting in Hayle in March 2026 to discuss the next closure and possible longer-term regulatory measures. The agency says some stakeholders remain concerned that fishing effort is too high and that repeated annual consultations create fatigue alongside uncertainty for business and fishing plans. (gov.uk) That background matters because the MMO is now signalling that annual consultations may not continue indefinitely. The consultation page states that longer-term management is under consideration so that a yearly seasonal-closure exercise may no longer be required, although the agency also says any final decision on that longer-term approach would be subject to further engagement. (gov.uk)
The next formal step is a decision by the MMO after it has reviewed consultation responses together with evidence gathered through the earlier engagement process. The agency says it will publish a summary of responses and its decision, and that any closure would then be implemented through a fishing vessel licence variation. (gov.uk) For vessel operators, merchants and processors, the immediate issue is planning rather than compliance with a rule that is already in force for 2026-27. If the proposal is adopted, the possible closure window runs from late November 2026 to between the end of May and late June 2027, and the breadth of the proposed measure means businesses exposed to the fishery will need to assess the effect on winter and spring activity, landing patterns and revenue timing. That practical reading follows directly from the consultation's published dates and fleet-wide scope. (gov.uk)