How do I report suspicious fishing activity? Is the fishing activity that I’ve seen illegal?

If you have witnessed an incident or fishing activity that you believe may be in breach of fishing regulations, you can report it to us by enquiry form, phone or email, via our Contact Us page. If you are unsure whether the activity is illegal or not, we would recommend still contacting us to make sure. If the activity isn’t illegal, it may still be useful in providing us with information about fishing activity. We encourage people to submit information about suspicious activity, as much of our work is intelligence-led and therefore the information submitted can be vital in assisting our officers with the detection of offences.

In addition to fisheries offences, you may wish to report other issues to a number of other organisations that we work in partnership with:

• Breaches of national fisheries legislation may also be reported to the Marine Management Organisation
• If the issue relates to licensing, certification or safety at sea, please contact the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
• If the issue relates to marine crime, please contact the relevant Marine Policing Team (e.g. Dorset Marine Policing Team, Hampshire Marine Unit)
• If the issue concerns environmental health, please contact your local council’s Environmental Health department.
• If you have concerns about freshwater or migratory fish species, or river incidents, please contact the Environment Agency.
• If the issue involves gang-mastering or modern-day slavery offences, please contact the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).

What happens when illegal fishers/offenders are caught?

Southern IFCA follow a series of enforcement actions under the Compliance and Enforcement Framework when dealing with fisheries offences. The Compliance and Enforcement Framework outlines the enforcement actions that are taken against offences, ranging from Advisory Letters and Official Written Warnings for less serious infringements, to Financial Administrative Penalties or Prosecutions for more serious infringements. Please see the Compliance and Enforcement Outcomes page to view the Compliance and Enforcement Framework and Southern IFCA’s approach to enforcement.

How can I be involved with management measures?

Southern IFCA consult with industry when establishing new management measures, in order to better understand the fishery and achieve a balance between the needs of the industry and the environment. Consultations and Calls for Information allow stakeholders to express their opinions and knowledge of a fishery and contribute to the establishment of fisheries management. Any open consultations can be viewed here.

Details of our ongoing management reviews can be found on our Current Reviews page.

If you have a question that has not been answered above or elsewhere on the website, please contact us.