Moves for tighter control to protect Dee cockle beds

Feb 15 2008 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

FISHING of the cockle beds on the Dee Estuary must be controlled to protect it for the future, an inspector has recommended.

It follows a lengthy public inquiry last year during which evidence was heard about how to control fishing and ensure the cockle beds in the Dee remain sustainable.

Wirral South MP Ben Chapman last night welcomed news that an order to improve the management of the cockle fisheries in the estuary has been recommended for approval.

Mr Chapman said the inspector’s report into the public inquiry, held in June last year, supports the need for an order to prevent over fishing and to protect what is a valuable natural resource.

The MP has made numerous representations to both Defra and the Welsh Assembly on this issue over the years.

He said: “While it is unfortunate and frustrating to hear that there will not be enough time to put in place the necessary arrangements for the allocation of licences for the fishery before the normal opening date of July 1, both Defra and the Environment Agency will now meet to progress matters as rapidly as possible.”

The main points covered in the inquiry in June 2007 were to limit the number of licences to 50 and ensure the numbers of cockles remain at a sustainable level.

Also being proposed was a licence fee of £992 – which is intended to enable the Environment Agency to meet the costs of managing the fishery and invest in its future.

Proposals put forward were intended to favour commercial fishermen who have a track record of cockling on the Dee.

There was also support for a proposal to allocate five licences to younger fishermen.

Mr Chapman described the recommendation as “positive”, and added: “After a long battle, we will have a regulation order to protect this important fishery from over exploitation.

“Previously, the authorities have allowed cocklers to take every cockle that was in the river and then it took four or five years for the cockles to come back.

“That is, as I have argued countless times, simply unsustainable. It has taken many years of shouting to get to this stage.”

The Dee Estuary’s cockles are an important source of food for wildfowl and wading birds during the winter months.

But cockle fishing in the Dee disturbs birds and causes direct damage to the habitat from trampling, discards, raking, illegal fishing and removal of undersize cockles.

The five cockle beds in the Dee Estuary are considered at risk from shellfish harvesting. All have recently been found to have low numbers of mature cockles while oystercatchers have been in decline on the Dee for the past 15 years.

According to the Environment Agency, no final decision had been made, but the inspector’s recommendation to approve the order has been passed to the Welsh Assembly and Defra ministers.

A spokesman for the Agency said they could not comment until ministers in London and Cardiff had made a decision.

liammurphy