Inshore Potting Agreement (IPA)

After the 1970s there were improvements in gear and technology which allowed crabbers to leave their pots out for longer as the materials were more durable, and towed gear which had previously been unable to target this rougher ground came into competition for access to valuable fishing grounds.

Prior to the agreement, many static-gear fishermen experienced huge financial costs due to lost gear that was towed away or damaged.

• As a response to growing conflict for space among different industry sectors, an inshore potting agreement was developed by South Devon & Channel Shellfishermen Ltd (SD&CS).
• The Inshore Potting Agreement (IPA) is a fishery management system designed by inshore fishers to reduce conflict between static gear (pots and nets) and towed gear (trawl and dredge) and is regulated through a fishing licence condition.
• The solution embodied in the IPA set out zoned exclusive or shared access for different fishing activities, allowing fishermen using static gear to fish in areas they knew to be designated specifically for this activity.
• The zonal management works well as the Fishermen are stewards of their area, take pride and reduce gear conflict.

• In the 1960s, local crab and lobster fishermen in South Devon joined together with fishing industry professionals including merchants, processors and gear suppliers to create the South Devon Shellfishermen Ltd (now named the South Devon & Channel Shellfishermen Ltd (SD&CS) to protect their shared marine resource
• A voluntary gentlemen’s agreement was put in place in 1978 to reduce conflict following a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries with fishermen from the different sectors
• In the 1990s there were reports of increased pot losses when an increasing number of fishermen moved from the whitefish sector into the scallop fleet.
• In 2002, the agreement was formalised into legislation as a commercial fishing license agreement where compliance was monitored and infringements persecuted
• IPA is an international recognised conflict resolution system. This management system evolved over through annual negotiation with different sectors to develop the zonal and temporal management. Today the management system is still known as the Inshore Potting Agreement (IPA), an area covering approximately 450km2
• The South Devon Inshore Potting Agreement (IPA) Trawling and Crabbing Chart was created to reduce conflict between the different sectors of the fishing industry and is reviewed on an annual basis by members of the IPA committee who represent different fishing sectors.
• There are quite a few potters working in this area form Dartmouth and Salcombe, of which most are under 12m with about five between 12 and 15m.  Over 70 fishing vessels operate within the IPA; some areas are open exclusively to potting all year; some areas are open to potting seasonally; some zones are open to trawling and scalloping when the potting gear is not present
• Creating zones in which static gear can operate exclusively creates a sense of custodianship of the resource amongst fishermen, making sure that they are managing the stocks for the next years of business. They are mindful of their environmental responsibilities as the area they work in has two MPA in place, the Skerries bank and Surrounds MCZ and the Start Point to Plymouth Sound SAC. They care for their catches and have been involved in fishing for litter.
• The fishermen in this area are very forward thinking. They proposed increasing the minimum size landing for hen and cock crabs which the Devon & Severn Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities (D&S IFCA) have consulted on and introduced. They have implemented voluntary escape gaps in pots, to ensure juveniles can swim free and reproduce
• The fishermen have been very engaged with researchers and research projects – Rob Blythe Skerne worked with fishermen on his PhD and Emma Pearson did her PhD working with fishers in for the GAP project. Fishermen have also work with Dr Paul Hart on the model to digitise the movement of crabs along the Channel.
• The SD&CS provides an important space for member fishermen to share information and have facilitated the co-management approach through communication and inclusion of all stakeholders such as the MMO and D&S IFCA – building trust between fishermen and management

1. South Devon IPA: Trawling & Crabbing Chart
2. South Devon & Channel Shellfishermen
3. South Devon IPA: Fishing in Harmony
4. Voluntary management in an inshore fisher y has conservation benefits
5. FITF Trustee, Alan Steer, talks about the Inshore Potting Agreement – “Have Your Say” – 01/04/21 – YouTube