1.1 Applications have been received from 6 fishermen who wish to fish for cockles using tractor-towed wet dredges. All of the applicants wish to fish using this method in Morecambe Bay, and 3 of the applicants also wish to fish along the north Wirral coast. The applications are reproduced at Annex A.

1.2 One applicant also wishes to fish using a similar device towed from a boat.

1.3 The Committee last considered the widening of wet dredging beyond the Ribble Estuary in November 2004. At that time, Officers had been instructed to carry out a full and formal consultation with the industry before any widening of wet dredging could be considered.

1.4 Since then, Officers have been engaged on other aspects of cockle fishery management. These have included the preparation of new Byelaws for a cockle closed season and a restrictive cockle permit scheme, national measures for cockle licensing and a minimum size, and other initiatives such as the Morecambe Bay Joint Liaison Group and the emergence of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. These aspects have been accorded higher priority than the possibility of extending fishing using wet dredges.

1.5 The recent applications suggest that there is a renewed interest in widening the use of wet dredges. However, this is no longer a simple process. Most of the areas concerned are European Marine Sites, and the implications of the European Court of Justice ruling on cockle dredging in the Waddensee mean that wet dredging would certainly be considered as a plan or project, and would be likely to have a significant effect if carried out within these Sites. A rigorous appropriate assessment process would therefore have to be carried out.

1.6 The need for both a full consultation and an appropriate assessment means that much staff time would be taken up in addressing this matter. At present, Officers do not consider that this can be carried out at the moment without affecting other important work. In particular, the possibility of a Fishery Order for Morecambe Bay has recently been discussed in Committee, and it is hoped to appoint a new Officer to address both this issue and the renewal of other Orders which expire in the next few years.

1.7 It may be that wet dredging in Morecambe Bay is a matter that can be usefully explored as part of a scheme of management for a Morecambe Bay Order. This would mirror the situation on the Solway, where the new Regulating Order allows for both hand gathering and mechanical harvesting of cockles.

1.8 Officers therefore suggest that the present applications should be deferred, and that the possibility of wet dredging should be incorporated into considerations of a new Fishery Order for Morecambe Bay.