The decision was taken after a co-design workshop with fishers and considering consultation responses from the draft crab and lobster fisheries management plan.
This decision aims to ensure short and long-term sustainability of the stock so that industry can continue to generate income from the valuable species in future.
On 3 October 2023 MMO brought fishers and government together to discuss short-term solutions after industry raised concerns about changes to the fishery that they feared threatened the sustainability of stocks.
Landings have increased sharply over the last five years while the fishing season has extended into winter and there has been a rise in the number of larger vessels with a bigger catching capacity targeting the species.
Richard Hoskin, Head of Sustainable Fisheries at MMO, said: "The recent changes in the fishery, alongside its previous history of cycles of boom and bust, suggest that urgent intervention is required.
"We have worked closely with industry to understand their preferred solution and held a workshop to go through the benefits and disadvantages of two potential measures - an increase in MCRS and a seasonal closure.
"There was unanimous support for an increase in MCRS as a measure that would bring benefit to stock. There was also some support for a seasonal closure, with questions surrounding the timing of a potential closure."
Full outcomes of the workshop are rationale behind the MCRS increase
