Eastern Sea Fisheries Joint Committee

ESFJC is one of 12 Sea Fisheries Committees, which protect the marine inshore environment around the coasts of England and Wales.

The Committee was formed in 1894 to protect inshore fish stocks along the East Anglian coast for the benefit of local fishing communities that relied on those fish stocks for their livelihoods.

The Committee is now recognised as a leader in the field for its commitment to protecting the local fish stocks and the marine environment which they are dependent upon and for its approach to conservation for the benefit of the fishing industry generally.

The Committee is composed of 20 members, consisting of four County Councillors from Norfolk and three each from Lincolnshire and Suffolk. Nine members are appointed by the Fisheries Minister, as being persons acquainted with the needs and opinions of the fishing interests, or having knowledge of, or expertise in, marine environmental matters of the district. The Environment Agency appoints the final member.

The Joint Committee is an autonomous Local Authority in its own right but does not receive any funding from central government. Funding of the Committee is totally provided by a direct levy upon its three Constituent County Councils, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, with their contribution being in proportion to their membership, ie. Norfolk 40%, Lincolnshire and Suffolk 30% each.

The continued support of the three County Councils is vital to safeguard the marine environment for the benefit of the socio-economics of the coastal rural communities of the area.

Main Aim & Objectives

AIM: To regulate, protect and develop the fisheries within the Committee’s District in a manner that ensures sustainable viability for the foreseeable future and compliance with the Committee’s environmental responsibilities.

• To promote and enact fisheries Byelaws and regulations having due regard to relevant environmental legislation
• To encourage the different fishing communities to work together and with the Committee to achieve the common goal of sustainable viability
• To monitor fishing activity to ensure compliance with fisheries and relevant environmental legislation.
• To monitor and assess shellfish stock levels in order to balance fishing effort with stock availability in an overall manner by means of regulation if necessary.
• To provide the training and motivation to ensure that the Committee’s Officers and administrative staff are able to carry out their tasks efficiently in support of the aim.
• To promote and encourage shellfish cultivation and other husbandry practises as an alternative to reliance upon wild fisheries and their sporadic recruitment.
• To ensure that the Committee’s fisheries management measures, and the industry’s fishing methods and fishing equipment minimises damage to the environment.
• To encourage other organisations to dedicate resources to achieve a common objective and to ensure that the aim of the Committee is taken fully into account when such organisations promote their own plans, strategies or codes of practise.