The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) has announced that licences for the Mourne Herring Fishery will be available from 2 September 2013.Â
[caption id="attachment_41561" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Fishing for herring in the Mourne fishery.[/caption]
Fishing will be restricted to boats not exceeding 40ft (12.2 metres) in overall length using drift nets with a minimum mesh size of 54 mm in accordance with EC Regulation 850/98. Boats of over 40ft (12.2 metres) in overall length are not allowed to take part in this fishery.
The Mourne herring quota for British registered fishing vessels in 2013 has been set at 30.5 tonnes.
Fisheries Departments will again allow weekend fishing for Mourne herring.
Application forms are available from your local Fisheries Office. All licence applications must be accompanied by a copy of the current Certificate of Registry issued under The Merchant Shipping Act 1995.
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Article 20.3 of Council Regulation (EC) 850/98 (OJ No L125, 27.4.98, P1) permits drift net fishing of the Mourne Herring stock by boats not exceeding 40ft (12.2 metres) in overall length. The only method of fishing permitted is drift netting using nets of minimum mesh of 54 mm.
Boats of over 40ft (12.2) metres in overall length are prohibited from fishing for herring fromSeptember 21 to December 31, in the part of the Irish Sea (ICES Division VIIa) bounded by the following co-ordinates:-
– the east coast of Northern Ireland at latitude 54° 15’N – latitude 54° 15’N, longitude 5° 15’W – latitude 53° 50’N, longitude 5° 50’W – the east coast of Ireland at latitude 53° 50’N
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