2.1 A dredging operation to remove the affected mussels has been carried out, and some 1,000 tonnes of mussels had been removed from the Strait and sent to Holland, where the slipper limpet is already endemic.

2.2 Following the dredging, a survey of the area was carried out by the Countryside Council for Wales and the Committee’s staff. Inevitably, a small residual level of mussels remained on the lay, and a very low level of Crepidula was found, either attached to live mussels or on empty shells.

2.3 It was decided that the best course of action was to relay further mussels onto the area in an attempt to smother the remaining slipper limpets. In mid May some 1,000 tonnes of immature mussels were relaid onto the affected area. It is hoped that the mussels will accumulate mud and bury the remaining limpets, preventing a self-sustaining population from establishing.

2.4 On May 16^th CCW held a meeting to discuss the introduction of Crepidula into the Menai Strait and Conwy Bay SAC. As well as CCW and the Committee’s staff, representatives of CEFAS, MFA, WAG, Seafish and the mussel industry attended the meeting.

2.5 Shortcomings in the existing legislation controlling the movements of shellfish and the introduction of alien species were highlighted. With the revocation of the Molluscan Shellfish (Control of Deposit) Order 1974, the legislation has been much weakened.

2.6 It was agreed that, in the short term, a code of practice to prevent the introduction of alien species should be drawn up and agreed by the mussel industry and the relevant authorities.

2.7 CCW will seek funding to carry out a comprehensive survey of the Menai Strait area, to determine if slipper limpets are still present, either on the mussel lays or in the wider intertidal and sublittoral habitats. Slipper limpets have been reported from the area in the past, but had been thought to have died out.

2.8 The work programme of the Committee’s Marine Biodiversity Officer, Vickie Hickin, has been amended to assist with the drafting of the code of practice, the slipper limpet survey, and to carry out a review of historical records of slipper limpets in the Welsh part of the District.