Sea Fish Minimum Sizes (MCRS)

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

The minimum landing size for the sea fish UK anglers keep most is 42cm for bass, 35cm for cod, 30cm for pollack and 20cm for mackerel (30cm in the North Sea). The official name is now minimum conservation reference size (MCRS), and any fish under it goes back to the sea straight away.

There is a catch. In England, the sea fish minimum sizes that bind anglers come mainly from your local Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) byelaw, and some districts disagree with the national figures. A conger is 58cm in the North West but 100cm in Sussex. Below you’ll find the national table, the district differences and how to measure, all last checked on 23 October 2026. For other angling rules, start at the fishing rules hub.

Sea Fish Minimum Sizes Table: National MCRS for Anglers

The official table is written for trawler skippers and packed with ICES-area footnotes. Here are the fish you are likely to catch from a pier, beach or boat, with the national minimum conservation reference size for each.

Species	National MCRS	Notes
Bass	42cm	Bag limit and closed period apply (see below)
Cod	35cm
Haddock	30cm
Hake	27cm	Cornwall IFCA lists 30cm
Herring	20cm
Horse mackerel (scad)	15cm
Ling	63cm
Mackerel	20cm	30cm in the North Sea
Megrim	20cm	Cornwall IFCA lists 25cm
Plaice	27cm
Pollack	30cm
Red sea bream	33cm
Saithe (coley)	35cm
Sole	24cm
Whiting	27cm
Brill	30cm	English Channel (ICES 7d and 7e) only
Turbot	30cm	English Channel (ICES 7d and 7e) only
Lemon sole	25cm	English Channel (ICES 7d and 7e) only

Also listed nationally, though rarely targeted by anglers: sardine 11cm, anchovy 12cm and blue ling 70cm.

Last checked: 23 October 2026 against the MMO MCRS guidance (updated 3 February 2026). See also the GOV.UK minimum fish landing sizes page.

Brill, turbot and lemon sole were only added on 14 February 2025, so older minimum landing size lists won’t show them. The North Sea caveat for mackerel matters on the east coast: North Eastern IFCA lists 30cm, and Kent & Essex IFCA uses 30cm for the North Sea and 20cm elsewhere.

Conger, flounder, dab, mullet, black bream, wrasse, skates and rays have no national figure here. Their sizes come from local byelaws only.

Bass. The minimum is 42cm whether you fish from a boat or the shore. From 1 February to 31 March it is catch and release only on rod and line. Outside that period you can keep three bass per day, and you may not take bass with fixed nets (GOV.UK bass fishing guidance, updated 27 February 2026). The bag limit is reviewed each year, so check the current guidance before you go. Our full bass fishing regulations page covers the detail.

If your fish is not in this table, go to the district table further down.

Why Your Local IFCA Size Can Differ From the National Table

Two official pages, one fish, two legal sizes. For anglers in England, the local IFCA byelaw usually decides.

The national table is MMO statutory guidance for UK waters and UK vessels. Within 6 nautical miles of the coast, other authorities can set extra minimum sizes: the IFCAs in England, plus the Welsh Government, the Marine Directorate in Scotland and DAERA in Northern Ireland (GOV.UK). If you are also wondering about permits, see whether you need a sea fishing licence.

Cornwall IFCA states that from August 2019 the EU minimum sizes stopped applying to recreational anglers, so recreational sizes now come from IFCA byelaws or UK statutory instruments, with bass 42cm applying again from January 2020. That is Cornwall IFCA’s position, so check your own district’s.

Other IFCA minimum sizes state plainly who they cover:

Sussex IFCA (Minimum Size Byelaw 2021) and Southern IFCA (MCRS byelaw) apply to recreational and commercial fishers alike.
North West IFCA splits its sizes into Schedule 1 (all persons) and Schedule 2 (all persons unless fishing under an MMO or devolved vessel licence).

Two local quirks: Cornwall IFCA notes that some inherited byelaw sizes don’t apply in certain rivers and estuaries, and Devon & Severn IFCA points out that angling clubs may set their own voluntary sizes.

Check the IFCA district for where you are standing first, then the national figure. Where they differ, the safe choice is the larger size.

This page covers England. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, check the Marine Directorate, the Welsh Government or DAERA for current sizes, because the rules there, bass included, may differ.

IFCA Minimum Sizes by District: Where the Rules Disagree

An 80cm conger is legal to keep in Cornwall, the Southern district or the North West. Catch the same fish off Sussex and it must go back, because the minimum there is 100cm.

Sea fishing size limits depend on where you fish. The table shows species where IFCA figures disagree, or where only a byelaw sets a size.

Species	North West	Cornwall	Southern	Sussex	Kent & Essex / North Eastern
Conger eel	58cm	58cm	58cm	100cm	Not listed
Mackerel	20cm	Not listed	20cm	20cm	K&E 30cm North Sea, 20cm other areas; NE 30cm
Hake	27cm	30cm	Not listed	Not listed	K&E 27cm
Flounder	25cm	25cm	27cm	27cm	Not listed
Dab	15cm	15cm	23cm	23cm	Not listed
Thick-lipped grey mullet	20cm	20cm (listed as grey mullet)	42cm	42cm	Not listed
Black seabream	23cm	23cm	23cm	23cm	Not listed
Red seabream	33cm	25cm*	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Ballan wrasse	Not listed	Not listed	18cm	28cm	Not listed
Skates and rays	45cm wing tip to wing tip	Not listed	40cm whole, 20cm wing	40cm whole, 20cm wing	Not listed

*Cornwall’s 25cm is lower than the national 33cm, so check with Cornwall IFCA before keeping one.

Last checked: 23 October 2026. Sources: North West IFCA, Cornwall IFCA, Southern IFCA byelaw and minimum sizes page, Sussex IFCA byelaw, Kent & Essex IFCA, North Eastern IFCA.

Black bream is 23cm in all four districts that list it. Mullet is the gap most likely to catch you out: a 30cm thick-lip is keepable in the North West and must go back in Sussex or the Southern district.

Skates and rays have no national fish MCRS, so the local byelaw is the only rule for them.

Devon & Severn IFCA publishes its main table as an image, so its figures aren’t reproduced here. Check the Devon & Severn IFCA MCRS page directly. Bass is 42cm there, as everywhere. For Eastern, Isles of Scilly and any species not shown above, check your own IFCA. Not sure what you’ve caught? Identify it first in our sea species guides.

If you fish more than one district, save both tables to your phone.

How to Measure a Sea Fish and Return It Properly

A flat measuring board and ten seconds settle most arguments on the beach. The byelaws set the method.

Lay the fish flat on a rule or measuring mat, nose against the stop.
Measure from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail fin (Southern IFCA byelaw; Devon & Severn IFCA for bass).
For a whole skate or ray, measure wing tip to wing tip.
Compare with your district table, then the national figure.
If it’s under size, return it to the sea immediately. Handle it wet and keep it out of the water as briefly as you can. North West IFCA suggests carrying forceps or long-nosed pliers and supporting the fish in the water until it swims off.

The sizes exist for a reason: they let fish breed at least once before they are removed from the sea (North Eastern IFCA).

If a fish is borderline, put it back. Freshwater fish sit under a separate regime: see fish size and take limits for rivers and lakes.

Frequently asked questions

Is minimum landing size the same as MCRS?

Yes, in practice. Minimum landing size is the older name, and official guidance now uses minimum conservation reference size (MCRS). See the national table above, then your local IFCA byelaw.

Do sea fish minimum sizes apply to anglers?

Yes. In England your local IFCA byelaw sets most recreational sizes, and national rules such as the 42cm bass minimum apply too. Cornwall IFCA notes that EU sizes stopped applying to recreational anglers in 2019. See the IFCA district section above.

Is there a minimum size for rays?

There is no national fish MCRS for skates and rays, so local byelaws decide. North West IFCA sets 45cm between the wing tips. Sussex and Southern IFCAs set 40cm for a whole fish and 20cm for a detached wing.

What is the minimum size for mackerel?

20cm in most UK waters, but 30cm in the North Sea. North Eastern IFCA and Kent & Essex IFCA (for the North Sea) use 30cm, so on the east coast work to the larger figure.