A proposed Holy Island fishing ban that many feared would have ripped the heart out of the community will not be enforced, Defra has confirmed.
Residents on Lindisfarne had been on 'tenterhooks' as they awaited a decision from the government that could have ended thousands of years of fishing. The Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) carried out a consultation last year on creating a highly protected marine area (HMPA) around the island.
The proposal would have banned all fishing activity off the shores of Holy Island, rendering a centuries-old way of life obsolete. But the Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, has expressed her delight after Defra officially confirmed it will no longer be proceeding with Lindisfarne as one of its candidate HPMAs.
