The new Menai Strait (East) Mussel and Oyster Fishery Order 2022 came into force on Saturday the 2nd of April 2022, replacing the old 1962 Fishery Order that has covered this area since 1962 and which expired at midnight on Friday the 1st of April 2022.
During March 2022, the Menai Strait Fishery Order Management Association sought the consent of the Welsh Minister to designate a new “several fishery area” within the new Fishery Order. The Minister granted her consent on the 28th of March 2022 so that this designation could be implemented when the new Order came into force.
One of the requirements of the new Fishery Order is that MSFOMA must publish a notice announcing the “designated several fishery area” on its website no later than 7 days after it takes effect. This announcement, which has been posted on the MSFOMA website and sent directly to interested parties, meets that requirement.
The boundary of the new Fishery Order and the “Designated Several Fishery Area” within it are illustrated in the map below.
The designated area follows the outer boundary of the existing mussel farming areas in the Menai Strait. It is part of the “like for like” process of renewing the cultivation areas that were established under the previous Fishery Order under this new Order. The designated area does and will not create any new restrictions or constraints for existing users of the area.
A formal notice announcing this designation can be downloaded here. The new Fishery Order can be accessed here.