1.1 The Conwy Mussel Fishery Order (1948) expired on 10^th August 2008. An application for a new Order for the Conwy fishery is with the Welsh Assembly Government. However, the new Order has not yet been made and so the fishery reverted to a public fishery, regulated only under Byelaw, when the 1948 Order expired.

1.2 The principal effect of the 1948 Order was to limit the number of participants in the Conwy fishery. Annual licences to gather mussels, between 1^st September and 30^th April were limited typically to around 20 in number. However, fishing under the Order also preserved the traditional Conwy practice of fishing mainly from small boats in the deep-water channel using long-handled rakes.

1.3 The prospect of the new Fishery Order being made by the Minister does not look good in the short term. A major difficulty is the requirement for the Crown Estate to give consent for any Fishery Order to be made over their holdings. At present, Crown Estate will only give a conditional consent, which can be withdrawn given 6 months notice. This is not deemed to be a valid consent, and so no new Fishery Orders can be made unless the Crown Estate changes its position on consents. This is not likely to happen before the legal dispute over the proposed marina at Beaumaris, within the Menai Strait Oyster & Mussel Fishery Order, is finally resolved.

2.1 The pressing need after the expiry of the 1948 Order was to safeguard the existing stocks of mussels in the Conwy Estuary. Mussel spatfall in the Estuary tends to be very variable, many years seeing little recruitment at all, and so the fishery is very vulnerable to over-exploitation. For many years now the fishery in the channel has been sustained by relaying mussels from the intertidal beds, and so it is very important that these intertidal stocks should be protected.

2.2 Coincident with the expiry of the 1948 Order, a closure of the entire Conwy Estuary was imposed. Details of the closure are given at Annex A. Since Conwy had a closed season for mussels under the old Order, from 1^st May to 31^st August, the initial effect of this closure was to maintain the status quo.

2.3 The Conwy fishery can normally commence on 1^st September, although the classification of the beds under the shellfish hygiene regulations means that some beds cannot be fished until October or even December. It will be necessary to allow some mussel fishing to take place during the coming winter, in order to support the Conwy purification tanks and to preserve markets.

2.4 The present closure will remain in force until 31^st August 2009, unless a new Fishery Order is made during that period. The closure has been made under Byelaw 13A, for fishery management purposes. Byelaw 13A allows for shellfish to be taken from part of a closed area under the written authority of the Committee. Officers therefore suggest that authorisations should be issued to fish for mussels within the closed area subject to the following conditions:

Although it will not be possible to limit the number of authorisations issued under Byelaw 13A, these measures should serve to safeguard the intertidal areas, which need to be preserved both as broodstock and as nursery areas for juvenile mussels. Authorisations should terminate at the end of April 2009, in line with the licences issued under the old Order.

2.5 Meanwhile, Officers are continuing discussions with the Welsh Assembly Government regarding possibilities to expedite the making of the new Fishery Order, and to exert pressure on the Crown Estate to alter its policy on giving consents to Fishery Orders.