Update On IOM King Scallop Fishery

The IOM fisheries authorities are examining an option to have king scallop vessels check in to port for inspections.

The king scallop industry is worth £12 million to the Isle of Man’s economy and it is in the interests of all who fish Manx waters, and rely on them for an income, to ensure the long term sustainability of king scallop stocks.

fisheries department sp[okesperson said that the Isle of Man is committed to rigorously enforcing daily catch limits applied to vessels, and added: “Following concerns over the accuracy of catch reporting since the season opened on 1 November, the Isle of Man Government proposed to vary licence conditions to require vessels to report into Manx ports from 8 January for possible catch inspection.

“The Isle of Man Government has agreed to delay the implementation of this new licence condition by a week to allow more time for discussions with the Scottish Government.

“This will allow the jurisdictions to discuss the issue and potential ways forward over the coming days.

“The Isle of Man Government is pleased to be working with its Scotland counterpart over this.”