1.1 At the Joint Committee meeting in September 2008 it was reported that Officers had acted to impose a closure of all cockle beds in Morecambe Bay, under Byelaw 13a, from 1^st September 2008 until 30^th April 2009 and that action was endorsed at the meeting.

1.2 The reason for the closure was the very low levels of adult cockles (less than 20m^-2 on most beds) and the fragility of the population structure with only two year classes present – the adults of 2006 and the spat from 2008.

1.3 Following requests from the industry to consider some form of limited opening, inspections were carried out around Flookburgh and Leven Island in November 2008. These found reasonable survival and on-growth of the 2008 year class while adult stocks, unsurprisingly, remain generally very low.

1.4 Allied to reports from other areas within the Bay, the inspections showed that the conditions that had prompted the closure were still in place.

1.5 Officers consider, therefore, that opening a fishery under these circumstances would be imprudent in biological terms and that the closure should continue in order to give the adult cockles the best chance of a final breeding opportunity and to maximise the chances of survival for the 2008 year class.