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Fishery: Burry Inlet Cockle Fishery (Cerastoderma edule)
Status:
The certification body, Moody Marine Limited has announced that the Burry Inlet Cockle Fishery will shortly be undergoing an annual surveillance audit. During the audit, Moody Marine will be speaking with representatives of the fishery, fishery management bodies and other stakeholders of the fishery. Meetings will be carried out over the period 1-2 May 2008 in Swansea, UK.
Please refer to the downloads section for further details.
Last updated: 07 March 2007
Location:
Burry Inlet Estuary in South Wales near the towns of Llanelli and Swansea. The fishery is limited to the intertidal zone in British Territorial Waters.
Fishing Method:
The Burry Inlet Cockle Fishery is based on hand-raking and sieving of cockles.
History:
The Burry Inlet is the estuary of the River Loughor which acts as an administrative boundary between Carmarthenshire and Swansea. The main towns are Llanelli and Burry Port in the north, and the village of Penclawdd in Gower on the South. The cockle industry has largely existed in the same way since the 1800s. Originally fished by women using donkeys, they were displaced by men who left heavy industry and used horse and cart. In 1965 the SWSFC licensed access due to excessive fishing effort.
Management:
Since 1965 the fishery has been managed by the South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee (SWSFC) under a Regulating Order issued under the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967, which allows the issue of a restricted number of licences. Throughout the history of the fishery, only hand raking has been allowed, although access is now allowed by vehicle rather than restricted to horse and cart or donkey. Effective fishery management measures are in place and the stock is said to be very consistent between years and in an excellent condition. Fishery effort is tightly controlled by the SWSFC via the issue of cockle licences and daily quota.
A limited number of licences (circa 55) are issued each year for the hand raking of cockles only. Gathering takes place all week except on Sundays to an individual daily quota of 300 kg - 600 kg (0.3 - 0.6 tonnes) per person per day. No night collection is allowed.
Minimum cockle sizes are set via riddle size (a hand held measurement device) to allow the survival of sufficient spawning stock. Scientific assessment of the cockle biomass takes place at least once per year by scientists from SWSFC and/or CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science). From these surveys the level of fishable stock is set at around 2500-3000 tonnes representing 25-33% of the total biomass. The number of cockle licences (full time or temporary) and daily cockle quota is then broadly set to give rise to the desired fishing effort.
The SWSFC has been gradually reviewing its management over recent years in order to ensure effective management of fishing effort which is also cost effective, sympathetic to the marine environment, and allows for the sharing of benefits amongst participants and prospective licence holders. Very few new licences have been issued since 1988, which reflects the changing public health regime, new environmental safeguards and cost effective management of fishermen through the adoption of new regulations.
In 2000 the Burry Inlet cockle fishery yielded c7135 tonnes of cockles to 55 full time licence holders. A further 35 temporary licences were also issued. Other cockle fisheries are worked using dredging vessels which support fewer jobs. In 2000 the Burry Inlet cockle fishery was ranked UK No 2 on landing volume/value and No 1 on job/employment.
Fishing Season:
The fishery is now zoned in terms of public health assessments and variously open.
Main commercial market:
Most cockles come from lightly muddy areas and are sold in processed form (cooked). Cockles are mainly sold locally. However, they are also sold to UK retailers, and some are exported to Spain, Holland, France and Portugal. Changes in European health regulations have meant investment by local cockle processors since 1993 and the need for capital investment has required a pooling of resources. Accordingly there are now only three processors on the south side of the estuary (two are family interests and a new co-operative). On the north side a long-standing bottling plant exists.
Other merchants set up grading/distribution centres from time to time, where the cockles are sent either to 'shell on' markets or for processing elsewhere. However, most processing is undertaken locally.
Assessment details:
The pre-assessment began in March 2000 and the first certificate was awarded in April 2001. Re-assessment began in February 2006 and a second certificate was awarded in February 2007.
Client and contact:
South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee (SWSFA)
Phil Coates / Mark Stafford
Queen’s Buildings
Cambrian Place
Swansea SA1 1TW
Tel: + (0) 1792 654 466
E-mail: swsfc@aol.com
Certification Body:
Moody Marine Ltd
Moody International Certification
Salisbury House
Stephenson's Way
The Wyvern Business Park
Derby DE21 6LY
UK
Tel (Direct): +44 (0) 1633 401092
(Office): +44 (0) 8707 529002
Fax: + 44 (1332) 675 152
Contact: Dr. Andrew Hough
ahough@moodymarine.com
www.moodymarine.com |
