Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities: Fisheries regulator or environmental backstop? The complexities of section 153 Marine & Coastal Access Act 2009

Since the introduction of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (‘MCAA'), fishing within England's inshore marine area has been managed by Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs). The powers and duties of IFCAs are contained in section 153 of MCAA and include a conservation remit; requiring IFCAs to have regard to the sustainability of fisheries activities and to conservation of the inshore marine environment. The inclusion of conservation in the name of these bodies and references to sustainability in their duties leads to questions as to the scope of IFCAs’ remit in relation to conservation. An examination of the parameters of section 153 suggests that the conservation that IFCAs can concern themselves with must relate to the management of fisheries activities, although the precise extent of this duty is not always clear. At the same time, examples from recent IFCA experiences, suggest that some stakeholders are interpreting the conservation duty much wider and viewing IFCAs as a broad conservation authority for the inshore marine area, thereby placing increased pressure on the organisations. The tension this mismatch creates must be carefully navigated by IFCAs if they are to remain within the bounds of the powers given to them by MCAA.