The Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) was scheduled to meet to discuss budget monitoring, review its constitution and consider the procurement of a replacement vessel. The meeting was also to include a review of the terms of reference for the Byelaw Working Group and for Employment Sub-Committee, and reappointments to both groups. The Cornwall IFCA Officers' Report was also scheduled to be presented.

Procurement of Replacement Daughter RIB for Patrol Vessel

The meeting was scheduled to discuss the procurement of a replacement Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) for the patrol vessel, Saint Piran. The report pack noted that the current RIB, Lyonesse, is essential for officers to safely board fishing vessels at sea, but it must be replaced by December 2026 to comply with the new Workboat Code 3 (WB3).

The report pack stated that the new WB3 code has a greater focus on safety, including the requirement for all crew to have ergonomic, forward-facing seating. It also mentioned that the Lyonesse weighs over three tonnes, which would be too heavy for a new, smaller, main patrol vessel.

The report pack outlined the requirements for the replacement RIB:

• It must work with Saint Piran and fit into her stern ramp.
• It must be compatible with plans for a smaller, faster and more efficient future main patrol vessel.
• It must provide a similar platform for boardings at sea as Lyonesse and be individually coded as a work boat to category 3, restricted.
• It must be equipped to carry four people on appropriate forward-facing, shock-mitigating seating.
• It must be powered by a modern inboard diesel engine and propelled by a water jet.

The report pack noted that officers had developed a specification document for the vessel, which had been reviewed by a surveyor. It also noted that Cornwall Council's commercial department had provided advice regarding the route to market for procurement of this vessel.

Two options for procurement were presented in the report pack:

1. A full open tender process, which should encourage several manufacturers to come forward with potential designs for evaluation, but would take approximately five months.
2. Using a framework agreement offered through BlueLight Commercial, which would significantly shorten the time to awarding a contract, but would limit the options to one manufacturer, Delta Power Group.

The report pack stated that the cost of the build itself was likely to be £200,000 to £300,000, which would need to be met from the authority's asset reserves.

The report pack stated that the Replacement Vessel Working Group was consulted by correspondence about their views and advice regarding the options for procurement, and that the feedback received was that using the framework offered the appropriate way forwards for procurement, particularly given the time pressures on this project.

The report pack recommended that officers begin the procurement of a new replacement RIB, using a framework agreement and single supplier.

Annual Review of Cornwall IFCA Constitution

The meeting was scheduled to include a review of the Cornwall IFCA Constitution. The report pack noted that the constitution is reviewed annually to ensure it meets the requirements of the IFCA.

The report pack stated that minor amendments had been made to the version from June 2024 to update procedural and administrative changes, and that no comments were received regarding these changes. It also stated that a member suggested that the text of the constitution should include encouragement to members to apply for the roles of chair and vice chair, but that following advice from Cornwall Council's legal and governance team, it would not be appropriate to include this in the constitution itself.

The report pack also covered the Terms of Reference for the Byelaw Working Group and the Employment Sub-Committee and appointments to those groups, and to one external body.

The report pack recommended that version 24 of the Constitution be adopted, that the Terms of Reference for Byelaw Working Group and Employment Sub-Committee be adopted, and that members are appointed to Byelaw Working Group, Employment Sub-Committee, and as the IFCA representative to Hayle Harbour Advisory Committee.

Budget Monitoring Report

The meeting was scheduled to include a discussion of the Budget Monitoring Report for April 2025 to July 2025. The report pack stated that at the end of July 2025, the IFCA's net expenditure before interest and reserve movements was £97,267 against a profiled budget of £490,545, providing a favourable variance of £393,278. The total forecast reserve position on 31 July 2025 was £810,426.

The report pack detailed expenditure within the administration budget as £148,335, with a favourable variance of £3,341 against a profiled budget of £151,676. It noted a favourable variance in employee expenses of £11,944, mainly due to the national pay award of 3.2% made in August, which had been budgeted at 4%, and unspent training budget to date.

The report pack stated that within the Enforcement area of the budget, there was a favourable variance of £15,324, with expenditure to the end of July reported as £222,801 compared to a profiled budget of £238,125.

The report pack noted that the position at the end of July for research was a favourable variance of £18,548, against a profiled budget of £161,634 with expenditure amounting to £143,086.

The report pack stated that the IFCA's income at the end of July totalled £417,075, which was £356,118 greater than the profiled budget. It noted that DEFRA grant totalling £410,000 was treated as a receipt in advance in the closure of the 2024-25 financial accounts, and that £56,167 of this had been budgeted so far in this financial year.

The report pack recommended that the budget and reserves position for the 2025-26 financial year be noted.

Cornwall IFCA Officers' Report

The Cornwall IFCA Officers' Report included updates from Simon Cadman, Principal Enforcement Officer, Dan Matthew, Skipper of Patrol Vessel, Richie Morris, Lead Engineer and Colin Trundle, Principal Scientific Officer.

New Regulations under the Fal Fishery Order

The report pack stated that new regulations were in place which apply to the Fal Fishery Order area. These regulations establish a new size for measuring native oysters that are removed from the Fal oyster and mussel fisheries. The recommendation, that the ring in the gauge through which native oysters (Ostrea edulis) must pass should be increased to 72mm, had to be agreed by the Fisheries Minister and a new set of regulations were signed by Defra to come into force from 18 August 2025.

Report of Simon Cadman and Enforcement Team, Principal Enforcement Officer

The report pack stated that following the recent departure of the chief engineer, Richard Morris was appointed to the role in August. It also stated that the IFCA was already complying with the newly introduced MCA Workboat Code Edition 3 manning requirements for all three of its vessels used for patrolling, but that at least one additional full-time enforcement officer was required in order to restore its capacity to board and inspect fishing vessels at sea.

The report pack included a table detailing the status of serious investigations and their outcomes.

General Fishing Matters

The report pack noted that handline mackerel fishing was better than it had been in recent years, and that there were reports indicating good bass fishing. It also noted that the high abundance of octopus along the south coast of Cornwall remained, often leaving many fishermen with few saleable crabs and lobsters to take from their pots.

Crawfish

The report pack stated that the opening of the crawfish fishery by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on 1 June led to expected heavy fishing by netters, primarily offshore, to the west of Cornwall. It also stated that some crawfish netters, fishing out to the west of Cornwall, had experienced large crawfish mortalities caused by octopus eating many of the crawfish trapped in their nets.

Scallop Dredging

The report pack noted that most scallop dredging was focussed to the east of the district, where fishing was quite steady but with far fewer vessels operating here than in the past.

Pollack

The report pack stated that from 1 June 2025, the ICES area 7 pollack catch limit for non-sector vessels was doubled to 150kg per month. It also stated that the Angling Trust (AT) had produced a Pollack Pact which aims to engage with recreational anglers to encourage them to contribute towards pollack conservation.

Bluefin Tuna

The report pack noted that bluefin tuna returned to southwest waters in the summer and many of the 15 licenced commercial fishermen and 142 permitted recreational fishermen had successful fishing trips.

Inshore Vessel Monitoring System

The report pack stated that the mandatory installation and operation of Inshore Vessel Monitoring System (IVMS) devices for all under 12m English fishing vessels at sea has been a great help to the IFCA. It also stated that a dispute between Succorfish, one of the two approved IVMS device suppliers, and the MMO has occurred over the supply of under 12m fishing vessel data to the MMO, resulting in Succorfish ceasing that part of its operations.

Report of Dan Matthew & Richie Morris, Skipper of Patrol Vessel and Lead Engineer

The report pack stated that the summer quarter brought some good spells of settled conditions which have allowed good patrol coverage throughout the district. It also stated that Richie Morris had been promoted to Lead Engineer.

Report of Colin Trundle, Principal Scientific Officer

The report pack stated that the survey boat, Tiger Lily VI, had a relatively quiet quarter, mostly due to the increased observer catch sampling work. It also stated that the implications of Work Boat Code 3 for the survey boat continue to be a concern.

The report pack included summary data for crustacean catch sampling (CCS) trips made between May and August 2025.

The report pack stated that the self-sampling program for crawfish is continuing, and that the scallop survey has continued with a further three trips being carried out since the last report.

The report pack noted that the IFCA was chartered by the Isles of Scilly IFCA to carry out a subsea imaging survey within its district in July, and that it was also chartered by the Cornish Fish Producers' Organisation (CFPO) to carry out a subsea imaging survey.

The report pack stated that officers have been monitoring the prevalence of octopus in the district and the potential impact on the crustacean fishery, and that permit holders were asked to submit records of octopus.

The report pack noted that trials have been carried out to investigate how to process the data from the iVMS, and that R (a statistics package) has been utilised to prepare, analyse and create outputs of fishing intensity by method around the district.

Annual Plan Quarterly Update, Ben Beckwith

The report pack stated that Cornwall IFCA has been in several meetings surrounding the Southwest Crab Pilot, which is part of the implementation of the Crab and Lobster FMP. It also stated that further work on the implementation of this FMP has been paused by Defra/MMO.

The report pack noted that the Crustacean and Molluscan Fisheries (Vessel Specifications) Byelaw 2024 is in the quality assurance (QA) stage of the byelaw making process, and that there has been ongoing dialog with the Cornwall Fish Producers' Organisation on developing engagement options to take this work forwards.

The report pack stated that scoping work has been undertaken as part of forming a stakeholder steering group to promote more regular and proactive engagement between the RSA sector and Cornwall IFCA.