The Thames Estuary Cockle fishery is celebrating its sustainability credentials as the season gets under way this month.
The carefully controlled and monitored fishery operating out of three ports in the Thames Estuary - Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, and Whitstable and Queenborough in Kent - has been a mainstay of molluscs for centuries.
It has recently been re-certified to the Marine Stewardship Council’s rigorous Standard for sustainable fishing, demonstrating its sustainability credentials for cockle lovers in the UK and abroad and that it is aligned with global best practice. The blue MSC ecolabel is the world’s most recognised mark for sustainable seafood. This highlights a remarkable turnaround for the fishery which was close to collapse in the 1980s but was first certified as sustainable in 2019.
Alex Holdgate, MSC Fisheries Manager, said: “Thames Cockle is an outstanding example of a traditional fishery operating in a modern, forward-looking way, sustaining a thriving business in the Thames Estuary while also ensuring they protect this area of outstanding beauty and environmental importance that’s home to many wildlife species. The Thames Estuary Cockle Fishery continues to be a beacon of sustainable fishing and one the fishermen there can be proud of.”
There are 14 licensed vessels who form the MSC certificate, which is managed by the Leigh Port Partnership. Limiting the catch to specific months of the year and only harvesting cockles of a minimum size makes sure the shellfish have time to reach maturity and reproduce, a key part of fishing sustainably. It also factors in the needs of estuary wildlife such as wading birds that overwinter on the tidal banks where the cockles are found, catching a third, leaving a third for the local seabird population, and leaving a third to help with stock health for the following season.
Andrew Rattley, Leigh Port Partnership spokesperson, said: “The Leigh Port Partnership, along with the licensed cockle fishing boats of the Thames regulated cockle fishery, are looking forward to a fantastic start of the cockle season having gained the MSC stamp of sustainability again.
“Our commitment to only cockle in this way for the last 50 or so years, taking limited catches, has certainly been rewarded and allows us to continue our committed sustainable path for the future years and generations to continue.”
Independent assessors concluded that the fishery, first certified in 2019, operates under a well-established and effective management system, with healthy cockle stocks.
The fishery, regulated by the Kent & Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities, (IFCA), is the fifth MSC certified cockle fishery in the North Atlantic, along with Poole Harbour and the Dee and Burry Estuary fisheries in the UK.
Thames Cockles and the Osborne family fishing business spearheaded the MSC’s Sustainable Seafood September campaign in 2024.
About the MSC
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organisation which sets globally recognised, science-based standards for sustainable fishing and the seafood supply chain. The MSC ecolabel and certification program recognises and rewards sustainable fishing practices and is helping to create a more sustainable seafood market. For more information visit msc.org/uk.
The MSC is the only global wild-capture fisheries certification programme that simultaneously meets best practice requirements set by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and has been independently evaluated against ISEAL’s Codes of Good Practice.
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