Cockle

For wild cockles in fisheries independently certified by the MSC in the Poole estuary there is no concern for biomass and 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).Cockle fisheries in Poole harbour in Dorset are independently certified to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard and are managed using stock assessments, undertaken by the local Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) in England.The available stock assessments provide an indicator of local cockle stocks through catch per unit effort (CPUE) from survey data, but do not include biological reference points to measure the overall stock sustainability against.  CPUE data is available for 2018, 2019 and 2021 for 12 zones in the fishery.  In one of these zones catches were significantly higher in 2021 and one significantly lower in 2021. For all other areas there was no significant difference between area. Although raw data are not available the analysis shows that CPUE data has been stable on average for the fishery since 2018 and so there is no concern for biomass.There is no TAC set in the Poole fishery. Monthly catch return forms for the Poole fishery indicate relatively consistent catches of cockles with overall declines in catches, shown in graphs in the stock assessment, between 2018-2020. For this MSC certified Poole Harbour fishery the certification audits also indicate relatively stable adult stocks with no concern under current fishing levels. The available evidence indicates that this cockle fishery is not subject to overfishing.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 Poole cockle fishery is compliant with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification standard. In this fishery there are a range of management measures that are appropriate for the local stocks. Management measures are guided by regular stock assessments. However, no catch limits are calculated for the stock making it difficult to assess whether catch rates are appropriate for the stock. In Poole harbour there is no TAC set for cockles, rather catches and hours fished are used to assess fishery stability. These measures are stable suggesting effort is managed. The fisheries employ a range of methods to control effort including through: Licences and permit allocation. Landing size limits are 23.8mm in Poole Harbour. Although not detailed for this fishery or the species more widely this is larger than the reported size at maturity of 14mm in other fisheries. Gear restrictions. Limiting landings through timing of trips and the ability to adjust landing limits depending on stock levels. Poole harbour has a season closed to fishing from 24th December to 24th May. The Poole fishery requires monthly, reporting of catches and catch locations. Detail of buyers of cockles are also required in the Poole fishery to increase transparency in the market. In the fishery Poole reporting of fishery interactions with Endangered, Threatened and Protected (ETP) species is required. Monitoring of fishers is undertaken using landings data. MSC certification audits have identified issues with non-compliance including cockles under landings size (in 2018), not reporting landings and gear infringements in 2018-19. For the Poole fishery certification does require ongoing monitoring and reporting going forward, including assessment of stock depletion on a finer scale. However, the MSC do not see non-compliance as systematic at this stage. In the Poole fishery the IFCA indicate that the sampling method will be biased in size of bivalve, which needs to be addressed alongside the limitations of the short temporal coverage if the survey data. In this certified fishery management measures are effective at maintaining stock levels and managing fishing pressure on cockles, with appropriate use of enforcement where non-compliance is reported in fisheries.  There may be other cockle fisheries in the area of this assessment that are 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. 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 the Poole MSC certified fishery are harvested using pump scoop dredges. Fishing for cockles using dredge methods are likely to cause moderate habitat impacts as they disturb sediments and benthic species.Management measures are in place for these fisheries as they occur in protected environments. Measures include closed areas where the most vulnerable habitats, like salt marsh and seagrass, are found.The Poole fishery uses pump scoop dredges. There is limited evidence about the specific impacts of cockle dredges on the seabed. A short-term study in Poole Harbour identified changes to benthic community structure following dredging activities but no long-term assessment has been undertaken. Wider studies indicate that some bivalve shellfish may not recover quickly from disturbance. And a global review noted that hydraulic dredges cause the biggest depletion of biota and penetrate the seabed deepest of all bottom towed gear. However, the impact of pump scoop dredges on the top centimetres of sediment and associated species and habitats is not considered, by the independent MSC assessment for Poole harbour, to produce serious or irreversible harm in the short-term. Ultimately, the overall impacts of all dredge fisheries depend on the total hours, gear size and spatial extent of all vessels in the fishery.This fishery occurs in an area with special protection for habitats and birds including saltmarsh, spartina swards and intertidal mud, sand and wading birds. 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.Non-target and endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species are rarely reported or expected in these dredge or rake fisheries. The fishing effort controls and gear restrictions to improve selectivity appear to effectively limit bycatch of non-target species. Additionally, there are areas closed to dredging in all circumstances to limit damage. There are also additional seasonal restrictions on accessing certain areas within the Harbour which are identified as being important for national and international overwintering bird species.In the Poole fishery all interactions with ETP species must be reported to the IFCA. Work is underway to collate ETP observations (both fishy dependent and fishery independent) and the results of trials to reduce the noise, pollutions risks and gear modifications to reduce wider impacts. The results are expected in 2022.In the Poole fishery there is concern that saltmarsh habitat can be damaged by cockle fisheries and that occasional incursions of agreed closed areas occurs. The overall impacts on habitat structure and function are assessed to be relatively small in the MSC certification assessment and emergency bylaws and enforcement measures are considered appropriate to manage this. Seagrass areas are excluded from the Poole fishing area and are not considered at risk due to existing bylaws and monitoring evidence. Sabellaria reefs and rare sponges in deeper water are also not of concern as low cockle abundance, water depth and rocky substrate mean it is unlikely to be fished. In the harbour no native oysters can be landed.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.

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