Cockle

For wild cockles in the Wash there is concern for the biomass but no concern for catch levels.Route 2 (data limited) scoring has been applied to this rating owing to the lack of a reference point for biomass and fishing pressure. Cockle is considered to have low vulnerability to fishing (scoring 24 out of 100).The most recent stock assessment available for the Wash fishery is from 2022. It indicates that cockle stocks in 2021 were declining and that this continued into 2022 with adult stocks declining from 15,848 tonnes to 8,226 tonnes whilst total stock size declined from 20,153t to 13,711t. The 2022 assessment does not capture longer term trends but the available 2019 stock assessment also showed stock declines for three successive years (2017-2019) and stocks at their lowest since 2011.Landings data provided by the IFCA show average landings between 2018-2021 of 3793 tonnes, this has consistently declined over the period to 3494 tonnes. The Total Allowable Catch (TAC) is calculated as a third of the adult cockle stock and was 5283 tonnes in 2021, so landings were lower than the TAC. In 2022 the minimum stock threshold of 11,000 tonnes would be crossed if a third of the stock was fished, therefore the stock assessment indicates that the TAC should be lower than a third of the total stock biomass. As fishing pressure has been below the TAC and the catch limits are set in line with stock status there is no concern for fishing pressure.Additional cockles can be harvested by recreational fishers with an allocation of 5 kilograms daily for personal consumption, in fisheries that are not closed due to health risks or for stock recovery. There is no regulation or reporting of this harvesting. There are also several cases of harvesting in areas that are closed to fishing due to biosecurity risks or where collections for personal consumption were questionable. The overall scale of recreational and illegal landings is not known or reported by authorities and so cannot be assessed in this rating. However, continuing unreported and illegal harvesting may affect cockle populations adversely.

Some management measures are in place but have not been effective at protecting the stock from declining or limiting fishing of small cockles.Management measures in the Wash include:limiting vessel size to 14metres;defining gear design;limiting fishing to one fishing area per day;limiting catches to one species within the Wash area or one cockle catch anywhere in a day;limiting licences;closing areas with high juvenile densities;directing fishing to overpopulated areas to avoid die off;requiring gears to limit juvenile cockle catches on beds where they are at high density;ensuring fishery has minimum total stock of 11,000 tonnes in spring survey before opening fishery and reproductively mature cockles (>14mm wide) exceed 3000 tonnes;minimum combined shellfish (mussels and cockles) thresholds need to be met to support oystercatcher birds;setting TAC at no more than 33.3% of total adult stock;catch limits for hand gathering of maximum two tonnes per day;frequent quayside inspections are undertaken alongside requirements for fishers to detail activities and catches in weekly reports.no dredge fishing has occurred in the Wash Fishery Order areas since 2008.There is no minimum landing size (MLS) restriction in the fishery although management measures differentiate cockles sized below and above 14mm wide.Despite the management measures in place in the Wash fishery the continued decline in adult and total biomass identified in the stock assessments indicates that the management measures are not effective. There is evidence of fishing down the age groups in areas where larger cockles in the Wash have experienced atypical mortality over recent years, so fishers have shifted to landings of younger and smaller cockles from predominantly age 3 to now 1 and 2 year old stocks. The absence of a minimum landing size means this is allowed in the fishery, therefore, reducing the reproductive potential of the stocks and reducing abundance in older age groups for future catches.There may be other cockle fisheries in the area of this assessment but not directly managed by the inshore management authority as in some areas private fishing and management rights can be granted. Stock and management data is not readily available for these fisheries so these areas cannot be assessed.In several areas, including the Wash, information to assess cockle biomass and fishing pressure is not publicly available making it difficult to assess stock status and management approaches. Greater consistency, completeness and transparency of reporting would help to ensure independent oversight of these fisheries.Additional cockles can be harvested by recreational fishers with an allocation of 5 kilograms daily for personal consumption, in fisheries that are not closed due to health risks or for stock recovery. There is no regulation or reporting of this harvesting. There are also several cases of harvesting in areas that are closed to fishing due to biosecurity risks or where collections for personal consumption were questionable. The overall scale of recreational and illegal landings is not known or reported by authorities and so cannot be assessed in this rating. However, continuing unreported and illegal harvesting may affect cockle populations adversely.The UK Fisheries Act came into force in January 2021 and requires the development of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs). In the UK, it is too early to tell how effective management is, as the Fisheries Act only came into force in January 2021. The Act requires the development of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) (replacing EU Multi-Annual Plans). FMPs are currently in development, but the scope of them remains unclear. They have the potential to be very important tools for managing UK fisheries, although data limitations may delay them for some stocks. MCS is keen to see publicly available FMPs for all commercially exploited stocks, especially where stocks are depleted, that include: Targets for fishing pressure and biomass, and additional management when those targets are not being met, based on the best available scientific evidence Timeframes for stock recovery Improved data collection, transparency and accountability, supported by technologies such as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM)Consideration of wider environmental impacts of the fishery

Cockles in this fishery are harvested using hand rakes. Fishing for cockles using hand raking may cause some habitat impacts.Management measures are in place for these fisheries as they occur in protected environments. Measures include allocating shellfish to wading birds when setting catch limits, and closed areas where the most vulnerable habitats, like salt marsh and seagrass, are found.This fishery occurs in an area with special protection for habitats and birds including oyster catchers, mudflats and salt meadows The Special Protection Areas (SPA) and Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) require a Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) to assess whether the fishery will cause any adverse impact (alone or in combination with other activities) to the features of interest. Fisheries can only be opened if the HRA confirms that the fishery will not cause adverse impacts on habitats. No dredge fishing is currently undertaken in the Eastern IFCA managed fishery. Additionally, there are areas closed to dredging in all circumstances to limit damage.In the Wash fishery most cockles are harvested using hand raking, although boats can be used to access fishing grounds and to disturb sediment and expose cockles at the surface, known as ‘prop washing’. Research indicates that cockle harvesting using traditional raking methods results in changes to the local species community, however, this largely recovers within a year after disturbance. Research indicates that damage to seagrass beds should be avoided, although this is not understood to occur here. Boat movement habitat impacts should also be minimised when manoeuvring. Habitat damage can result in fishery closure. The IFCA reports that at sea monitoring to assess impact on protected features and low-tide prop wash impacts is undertaken although details of the findings are not readily accessible on the IFCA website.The Wash is a Marine Protected Area (MPA). It is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Special Protection Area (SPA), and is part of The Wash and North Norfolk Coast Special Area of Conservation (SAC). These include internationally important communities of birds that feed on cockles and mussels; sandbanks and mudflats which are important habitat for invertebrate communities. And important seal haul out sites and transit routes. The fisheries are subject to detailed Habitats Regulations Assessments by EIFCA, advised by Natural England, to assess the likely impact on these conservation features. Additionally, cockle fishing is not permitted within the boundaries of established and incidental mussel beds.Non-target and endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species are rarely reported or expected in these rake fisheries. The fishing effort controls and gear restrictions to improve selectivity appear to effectively limit bycatch of non-target species. There is no accessible information about the catches of non-target and threatened species in the Wash fishery.To improve monitoring and reporting of fishing activity, MCS would like to see remote electronic monitoring (REM) with cameras implemented, used and enforced. To reduce the impacts of fishing on the marine environment we would like to see a just transition to the complete removal of bottom towed gear from offshore Marine Protected Areas designated to protect the seabed. We also want to see reduction and mitigation of environmental impacts including emissions and blue carbon habitat damage.