Bottom Towed Fisheries
Please visit the following pages for information regarding the
Poole Harbour Dredge Permit Fishery
or the
Solent Dredge Fisheries.
Bottom Towed fishing gear is used throughout the Southern IFC District in the coastal waters of Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. However, there are many areas all over the District in which all Bottom Towed Gears are prohibited. For more information about these area’s see the
Bottom Towed Gears Management Page.
In Dorset, scallop dredgers collect king scallops from seabed sediment habitats. Throughout Lyme Bay, Weymouth Bay and Poole Bay bottom trawls (light otter trawls and beam trawls), are used to target a variety of fish species including cuttlefish, sole, plaice, squid, skate and rays.
In 2019, more than 370 tonnes
1
of fish were caught in the Southern IFC District using bottom trawls.
1
Data reported from
UK Fisheries Statistics 2019