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Just to put the matter straight, the byelaw clearly states that it is prohibited to use edible crab, otherwise known as brown crab (Cancer pagurus) as bait. This is a direct result of concerns by fisheries managers that an unknown quantity of edible (soft) crab was being used by the commercial sector as pot bait. The byelaw was not enacted originally to prohibit use by anglers, it was only at a later stage when the use of crab by recreational anglers became widespread. The definition was extended to include use by all stakeholder groups, with no exception.
The arguement has been used in the past that \"I brought them from outside the area\", this arguement does and will not hold in a court of law. The defining word is USE, it doesn\'t matter where they came from, if the intention was to USE them as bait then the law has been broken.
The crabs being purchased from tackle shops or chinese supermarkets are I believe non-native species and therefore are not included in any current byelaw and have no MLS attached. These are already frozen and as a consequence will not affect or impact on UK coastal fisheries. There is little chance of them being imported live, as a license would be required and stringent regulation of their movements and possible release into the wild would negate this.
In addition to the prohibition on use of edibles, crabs are subject to MLS regulation. The edible MLS is 130mm along the Yorkshire and Northumberland coasts and practically all of the UK, the only exception being within the Eastern Sea Fisheries Joint Committee (the Wash) where the MLS is 115mm, this is due to the Wash fishery being driven by a predominantly juvenile stock recruited from the Yorkshire fishery.
The only crab species described in the prohibition of usage as bait is the edible crab, however, velvet swimmer crab (Necora puber) are also covered within the MLS, which I think is 65mm.
The problem arises when one sea fisheries committee has different byelaws, e.g. the Sussex SFC has no byelaw prohibiting the use of edible crab as bait. So potentially an angler may use it in Sussex, bring some up to Yorks or Northumberland for a fishing session/match and break the byelaw. Additional porblems occur when anglers are unaware of these regulations, as was recently discovered when an angler won a match using edible crab in an area where it is illegal to do so, should he have been disqualified?
In Summary;
a) You cannot use edible crab (Cancer pagurus) for bait
b) All edible crab retained for consumption must be above 130mm (Yorkshire and Northumberland) or 115mm (The Wash)
c) In Yorkshire you are allowed a daily maximum of 10 edible crabs, (not sure about Northumberland)
d) Velvet swimming crab may be used as bait, however, they have to be larger than 65mm (CW)
e) There are no restrictions on green shore crab (Carcinus maenas) or hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus)
f) Purchase or collection out of area if caught within the area is no defence, the byelaw states use or intent to use
The arguement has been used in the past that \"I brought them from outside the area\", this arguement does and will not hold in a court of law. The defining word is USE, it doesn\'t matter where they came from, if the intention was to USE them as bait then the law has been broken.
The crabs being purchased from tackle shops or chinese supermarkets are I believe non-native species and therefore are not included in any current byelaw and have no MLS attached. These are already frozen and as a consequence will not affect or impact on UK coastal fisheries. There is little chance of them being imported live, as a license would be required and stringent regulation of their movements and possible release into the wild would negate this.
In addition to the prohibition on use of edibles, crabs are subject to MLS regulation. The edible MLS is 130mm along the Yorkshire and Northumberland coasts and practically all of the UK, the only exception being within the Eastern Sea Fisheries Joint Committee (the Wash) where the MLS is 115mm, this is due to the Wash fishery being driven by a predominantly juvenile stock recruited from the Yorkshire fishery.
The only crab species described in the prohibition of usage as bait is the edible crab, however, velvet swimmer crab (Necora puber) are also covered within the MLS, which I think is 65mm.
The problem arises when one sea fisheries committee has different byelaws, e.g. the Sussex SFC has no byelaw prohibiting the use of edible crab as bait. So potentially an angler may use it in Sussex, bring some up to Yorks or Northumberland for a fishing session/match and break the byelaw. Additional porblems occur when anglers are unaware of these regulations, as was recently discovered when an angler won a match using edible crab in an area where it is illegal to do so, should he have been disqualified?
In Summary;
a) You cannot use edible crab (Cancer pagurus) for bait
b) All edible crab retained for consumption must be above 130mm (Yorkshire and Northumberland) or 115mm (The Wash)
c) In Yorkshire you are allowed a daily maximum of 10 edible crabs, (not sure about Northumberland)
d) Velvet swimming crab may be used as bait, however, they have to be larger than 65mm (CW)
e) There are no restrictions on green shore crab (Carcinus maenas) or hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus)
f) Purchase or collection out of area if caught within the area is no defence, the byelaw states use or intent to use
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