Wash Cockle and Mussel Byelaw 2021: re-consultation
The Authority is seeking confirmation from the Secretary of State for the Wash Cockle and Mussel byelaw 2021. This byelaw is intended to manage cockle and mussel fisheries in The Wash to replace the management regime previously in place under the Wash Fishery Order 1992 which expired in January 2023.
Stakeholder dialogue and formal quality assurance provided by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has lead to significant changes since the byelaw was made by the Authority and the formal consultation was undertaken in March 2022. As such, the Authority undertook an additional consultation exercise with those who had responded previously so as to provide opportunity to comment on the changes made.
This short, targeted consultation closed on 15 May 2023. The responses were carefully considered and resulted in further amendments to the byelaw. The full consideration of the responses can be found in the ‘Outcome Document’ at the link below.
The byelaw will now be submitted back to the Marine Management Organisation to continue the quality assurance process before being sent to Defra for consideration by the Secretary of State.
More information about the replacement of the Wash Fishery Order 1992 can be found here.