Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 5th February, 2019.

I, MICHAEL CREED, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 3 and 15 of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 (No. 8 of 2006) and of the Sea-Fisheries, Foreshore and Dumping at Sea (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2007 ( S.I. No. 707 of 2007 ) (as adapted by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2011 ( S.I. No. 455 of 2011 )), hereby make the following regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Brown Crab (Conservation of Stocks) Regulations 2019.

(2) These Regulations come into operation on 1 March 2019.

2. In these Regulations –

“brown crab” means Cancer pagurus;

“sell” includes offer, expose or keep for sale, invite an offer to buy, or distribute for reward;

“specified zone” means ICES Areas VI and VII of the specified area.

3. These Regulations apply to brown crab with a shell length of less than 140 millimetres, measured as the maximum width of a carapace measured perpendicular to the anteroposterior midline of the carapace, taken by an Irish sea-fishing boat within the specified zone.

4. (1) The master or person in charge of an Irish sea-fishing boat shall not cause or permit a brown crab to which these Regulations apply to be retained on board the sea-fishing boat.

(2) The master or person in charge of an Irish sea-fishing boat shall not cause or permit any person on board to retain a brown crab to which these Regulations apply on board the sea-fishing boat.

5. The master or person in charge of an Irish sea-fishing boat shall not cause or permit the boat to be used for the landing or transhipment of a brown crab to which these Regulations apply.

6. The master or person in charge of an Irish sea-fishing boat shall cause a brown crab to which these Regulations apply, taken by the Irish sea-fishing boat, to be carefully handled and returned alive to the sea without delay.

7. A person shall not buy, handle, tranship, transport, land, process, store or sell a brown crab taken by an Irish sea-fishing boat to which these Regulations apply.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

1 February 2019

Michael Creed,

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine..

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

The effect of these Regulations is to increase to 140 millimetres the Minimum Conservation Reference Size for brown crabs taken by Irish sea-fishing boats in ICES Areas VI and VII.