To advise Members on the current status of new Byelaws which are awaiting Ministerial confirmation.

1.1 Byelaw 14 seeks to subject all cockle fishing to a seasonal closure throughout the whole of the District. The closure would apply annually from 1^st May to 31^st August. The rationale for a closed season is for the protection of spawning cockles and resultant spat.

1.2 This new byelaw was formally 'made' at the February 2006 meeting of the Joint Committee and subsequently advertised for the statutory public consultation period of 28 days. During that period no objections were received. A request was therefore duly made to DEFRA and Wales Assembly Government (WAG) for Ministerial confirmation.

1.3 In view of the very short time-line Officers had been in frequent discussion with DEFRA and WAG since December 2005, alerting them to the need for a swift confirmation process. Unfortunately by 24^th April 2006 we had received no formal confirmation for a 1^st May closure.

1.4 In order that the cockle fisheries be closed for the same biological reasons previously advanced for an annual seasonal closure byelaw, Officers considered a fall-back strategy for a temporary closure from 1^st May 2006. Therefore on the 25^th April 2006, Members were informed that Officers were preparing for a temporary closure under Byelaw 13A, which would prohibit all cockle fishing throughout the District from 1^st May 2006 to 31^st August 2006. A temporary closure has now been advertised at all known cockle beds.

1.5 A verbal update will be made if formal confirmation of the byelaw is received prior to the 19^th May 2006 meeting of the Joint Committee.

2.1 Members will be aware these Byelaws were being revised to further enhance their effectiveness in the conservation of stocks.

2.2 Following lengthy negotiations during the summer of 2005, these byelaws were submitted and 'made' at the November 2005 meeting of the Joint Committee.

2.3 In order to expedite due process, and alert the Ministers that netting restrictions commence annually on the 1^st April, Officers submitted the byelaws to DEFRA and Wales Assembly Government (WAG) in December 2005 for initial comment prior to formal public advertisement. During the public consultation 1 letter of objection was received in relation to Byelaw 24 which deals with fixed nets. Officers reviewed this objection, and requested that WAG strike it out. There were no objections to Byelaw 25.

2.4 To date there has been no formal response from WAG, therefore we are reliant on the current byelaws for active restrictions on netting.

2.5 A verbal update will be made if formal confirmation of the Byelaw is received prior to the 19^th May 2006 meeting of the Joint Committee.