# The Shrimp Fishing Nets (Wales) Order 2003, Article 3: Prohibition on fishing for shrimps without a separator trawl or sorting grid


British fishing boats are prohibited from carrying or deploying a net, whose mesh measures between 16 and 31 millimetres unless —
(a) netting, the mesh of which measures at least twice that of the codend and nor more than 70 millimetres, is fitted across the entire cross-section of the net in such a way that —
(i) fish cannot reach the codend without first passing through the netting; and
(ii) there is a hole in the net through which all fish that do not pass through the netting are able to escape;
(b) a rigid grid, the spacing between the bars of which is no more than 20 millimetres is fitted across the entire cross-section of the net in such a way that —
(i) fish cannot reach the codend without first passing through the grid; and
(ii) there is a hole in the net through which all fish that do not pass through the grid are able to escape.
(c) no fish have been retained on board the boat; or
(d) where fish have been retained on board the boat, less than 60% by live weight of the total catch retained comprises common shrimps (Crangon spp.), Aesop shrimps (Pandalus montagui) or a combination of the two.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2003/3035/article/3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/shrimp-fishing-nets-wales-order-2003/article-3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.