Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action the Marine Management Organisation has taken against fishing vessels operating out of Mevagissey illegally using nets to target sea bass and exceeding their annual bycatch allowance.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) undertakes regular intelligence led patrols across the South-West, including Mevagissey, to monitor bass fishing. From July to September, MMO undertook 174 fishing vessel inspections in Cornwall. Mevagissey sees weekly patrols at varying times of day to inspect fishing activity and inspections will cover authorisations to fish for bass and physical fishing gear on board. MMO also conducts inspections at sea and works alongside Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (CIFCA). In addition to physical inspections all data sources are validated and monitored including catch and landing records, annual bycatch allowances and uptake.

The MMO is aware of the concerns raised locally and will continue to work with the fishing industry and Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities to improve collaboration between regulators on targeted enforcement and improved communication and understanding of bass regulations, a commitment in the Bass Fisheries Management Plan published in December 2023.