Southern IFCA

25/08/2026

Southern IFCA have been carrying out evening & night patrols around Poole to engage with stakeholders and support compliance with regulations.

Officers have enjoyed engaging with the recreational sea angling community at Sandbanks, providing minimum size stickers to help support anglers in ensuring that their fish meet the minimum conservation reference size and answering any questions on the relevant regulations for recreational sea angling.

For more information on management for rod & line fisheries please visit our website: https://www.southern-ifca.gov.uk/rod-and-line-regulations

19/08/2026

Court Outcome

Fisherman ordered to pay £15,000 for a breach of Southern IFCA’s Bottom Towed Gear Fishing Gear Byelaw in Southampton Water

On Wednesday 12th August 2026 at Southampton Magistrates Court, Ryan Tyers pleaded guilty to not having all parts of his bottom towed fishing gear inboard and above the sea, in contravention of the Southern Inshore Fishing & Conservation Authority (IFCA) Bottom Towed Fishing Gear (BTFG) Byelaw 2023, which requires a person using a vessel which is carrying bottom towed gear within a prohibited area to have all parts of that gear inboard and above the sea.

The Southern IFCA BTFG Byelaw 2023 protects designated features of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) via year-round spatial prohibitions to BTFG, which in this instance were protecting the designated features of both the Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservations (SAC) and the Solent and Southampton Water Special Protection Area (SPA).

Commercial dredging for clams is permitted outside of the prohibited area between Calshot Spit and Fawley Oil Refinery under the authorisation of a Solent Dredge Permit Byelaw Category A Permit issued by the Southern Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority. This remains an important bivalve fishery for the local fishing fleet.

For more information please click below:

Southern IFCA will sustain marine environments and inshore fisheries by balancing social, environmental and economic benefits to ensure healthy seas and sustainable fisheries.

11/08/2026

Southern IFCA are aware of an incident reported in the media on 27th July concerning the seizure of a quantity of crabs and oysters by Hampshire Police around Langstone Bridge and are liaising with Hampshire Police in relation to this incident.

Southern IFCA would like to take this opportunity to provide the following Shore Gathering Requirements - https://www.southern-ifca.gov.uk/shore-gathering regarding the statutory responsibilities applicable to shore gathering in Langstone Harbour and how you can report any matters of concern to [email protected].

04/08/2026

The consultation on five UK Joint Pelagic Fisheries Management Plans is currently open.

The FMPs were developed jointly by Defra, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government which coordinated the work.

Three of the FMPs have overlap with the Southern IFCA District:
North Sea Herring
Northern Shelf Blue Whiting
Northern Shelf Mackerel

📅 The consultation is open until 11:55pm on 14th October 2026.

For more information please visit:

https://defrafmp.blog.gov.uk/2026/07/22/consultation-opens-on-five-joint-uk-pelagic-fmps/

22/07/2026

Did you know?

The Southern IFCA Monitoring Programme involves 6 different survey types & up to 10 surveys per year

3 of our surveys are run multiple times during the year to monitor seasonal changes or pre & post fishing season trends, and 100% of our surveys overlap with one or more Marine Protected Areas.

5 of our surveys collect data which is relevant to Fisheries Management Plans, providing data to help inform the Whelk FMP, King Scallop FMP, Bass FMP, Channel Non-Quota Species FMP, Mixed Flatfish FMP and the Cockle FMP.

100% of our surveys involve collaboration with fishers, usually through the chartering of local vessels & on our Juvenile Fish Surveys we are often joined by partner organisations, NGOs, universities and other members of the community.

Data from our monitoring programme contributes to understandings of trends & changes in stocks over time, helping inform management decisions and improving the evidence base to support continued sustainable management of important inshore fisheries.

For more information and to view survey reports please visit our website: www.southern-ifca.gov.uk

14/07/2026

The Marine Management Organisation - MMO have launched a webpage to provide updates relating to the emergence of octopus including data on octopus and shellfish landings, stakeholder engagement activities, an overview of relevant scientific research, and information on available funding.

The webpage also includes an octopus reporting portal aimed at divers, recreational anglers, and members of the public, allowing them to report octopus sightings.

Please click here to visit the webpage and access the Octopus Reporting Portal - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mmo-updates-on-the-octopus-bloom

14/07/2026

The Association of IFCAs has released the July edition of IFCA Insights: a series of newsletters designed to better connect and communicate the work carried out across England’s ten IFCAs.

Read it online here: https://online.fliphtml5.com/AssociationofIFCAs/IFCAInsightsJuly2026/ =18

This has been an important period for England's IFCAs and this edition demonstrates the breadth, value and impact of the work being delivered around the coast. This issue details strong examples of practical, locally led fisheries and conservation management with the confirmation of new and updated byelaws in Sussex, Kent & Essex, Devon & Severn and Cornwall, the importance of collaboration through the IFCA Technical Advisory Group and the Inshore Small-Scale Fisheries Consortium and the professionalism of IFCA Officers and Members through enforcement, digital innovation and day-to-day engagement with communities. The Officer Spotlight in this issue features our very own Kyle Payton, an IFCO in the Southern IFCA Compliance and Enforcement Team. The AIFCA's new film, Conserve was also launched on World Oceans Day looking at how IFCAs manage fishing activity within Marine Protected Areas.

08/07/2026

A reminder that commercial, recreational and charter fishers are able to submit data on black seabream fishing within three Dorset MCZs as part of one of the Co-Developed Principles for Black Seabream, developed with the Dorset Community to further understandings of black seabream and related fisheries.

The programme aims to provide data at the scale of the Purbeck Coast MCZ, Poole Rocks MCZ and Southbourne Rough MCZ to support the creation of an evidence base to help inform ongoing sustainable fisheries and complement wider external research.

If you would like to take part please use the QR code or visit https://www.southern-ifca.gov.uk/black-seabream-fisheries for more information and to access data reporting forms.

30/06/2026

The Southern IFCA spring Juvenile Fish Survey for Christchurch Harbour was carried out in June. Across two sampling sites 11 different fish species were recorded with the most abundant species being herring, sand goby, golden grey mullet and sand smelt.

As part of Southern IFCA's Fish Monitoring Programme, surveys are carried out at a range of sites across the District in order to understand the use of Essential Fish Habitat by commercial and recreational fish species, contributing to a dataset that can be used for reviewing fisheries management and to support data collection at a national level for relevant Fisheries Management Plans.

To view reports from previous years' surveys please visit our website at: https://www.southern-ifca.gov.uk/district-net-fisheries

29/06/2026

🎉💚👀BIG news! The Biosphere Festival programme is now live! 🎉💚👀
www.iwbiosphere.org/biospherefestival

We’re really excited to announce that we have over 100 events taking place across the Isle of Wight this year. Organised by a wonderful mix of local organisations, creatives and communities, with many being free or low cost!

We've got nature safaris, UV night walks, wild beer fermentation, beach yoga, creative writing, open days, hands on volunteer opportunities, woodland drumming, guided walks, talks, family activities, citizen science, film screenings, workshops, dance, performance, storytelling, music, art, craft, history, carnival, gardening, permaculture, fashion, and so much more. Many of the events are unique to the festival and offer experiences that you wouldn’t usually get outside of these 9 days.

Lots of events require booking and have limited space so make sure you check the listing and reserve your spot if required!

The festival is taking place between June 27th and July 5th and is a celebration of our UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, as well as the people and places that make the Island so special.

Check out the brand new programme on our website https://www.iwbiosphere.org/biospherefestival for the full list of events

cc Isle of Wight Council Visit Isle of Wight Island Nature Wildheart Animal Sanctuary