2014 Southern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) Solent Oyster Fishery Stock Report â?? Phase 1 â?? Baird Dredge dataset https://portal.medin.org.uk/portal/start.php?tpc=010_06b685521edef18545bc8bcb1515ab5d The Solent currently exists as a public fishery but in the past has been managed through a regulating order (until 2010). In the 2013-2014 season, due a noted decline in the fishery, Southern IFCA used its â??Temporary Closure of Shellfish Beds Byelawâ?? to close the fishery in the wider Solent and only allowed fishing to continue for four weeks in Portsmouth and Langstone Harbours. The annual stock survey previously undertaken by CEFAS was discontinued in 2011. Due to the active management applied to the Solent oyster fishery by Southern IFCA, the authority decided that more recent data was required with regard to oyster levels in order to influence the management of the fishery. In a joint funded project with Natural England, Southern IFCA undertook an oyster survey following the same methodology as CEFAS in previous years, although station numbers in some areas were reduced. In addition to the CEFAS methodology, the survey design also considered the effectiveness of the Baird dredge by re-running a number of stations with the ladder dredge to work towards a comparison between the two dredges and, if further monitoring is required in years to come, move towards a method of fishing used by the industry. 20180612