1.1 Under Byelaw 14, all cockle beds in the Committee’s District are subject to a seasonal closure from 1^st April to 31^st August each year. The present closed season therefore expires at on 31^st August 2007, and all beds become legally harvestable from 1^st September onwards.

1.2 In advance of the open season, a series of surveys of cockle beds has been undertaken. These have comprised all of the main beds in Morecambe Bay, and the bed at Traeth Lafan in North Wales.

1.3 The surveys are almost complete at the time of writing, and the general results are presented here. A more detailed account will be presented at the meeting of the Joint Committee.

2.1 The cockle stocks in Morecambe Bay presently consist almost entirely of the 2006 and 2007 year classes. The 2007 settlement of spat cockles is still continuing, but there seems to have been settlement on most of the beds, and in many areas the settlement is heavy.

2.2 There are few cockles present that are older than the 2006 year class. The reasons for this are that the 2005 spatfall was modest and did not survive its first winter in any numbers, there was very poor spatfall in 2004, and the prolific 2003 year class has now nearly all died (few cockles live beyond 3 years of age in Morecambe Bay).

2.3 Densities of the 2006 year class vary between the different beds. Overall, stock levels are satisfactory from the viewpoint of the biological sustainability of the population. However, from the commercial fishery viewpoint the stocks are moderate to poor in many areas.

2.4 As most of the cockles are from the 2006 settlement, and this settlement was protracted throughout the summer and early autumn, the size of most cockles is not large. Again, this varies across the beds, particularly according to tidal height. There are therefore some areas where most of the cockles are above the Committee’s minimum size limit, whereas in other areas the great majority are still undersized.

2.5 The early conclusion from the surveys is that most beds hold at least a limited stock of cockles that will attract commercial harvesting, but that stocks will not support a fishery anything like the scale generated by the prolific 2001 and 2003 year classes. The size of the cockles varies, but there are very few large cockles present, and the average size on most beds is small. The biological sustainability of the population is satisfactory, but if heavy fishing occurs and persists then careful monitoring of residual stock levels will be necessary and it is possible that bed closures may be necessary.

2.6 At Traeth Lafan, stocks appear generally similar to those in 2006, but with a somewhat reduced tonnage of harvestable cockles. Traeth Lafan receives more regular spatfalls than Morecambe Bay, and so there is good representation of most year classes. Growth rates are very variable on this bed, as there is considerable variation in tidal height. As with Morecambe Bay, therefore, there are areas where the great majority of the cockles are below the minimum landing size. It is considered that Traeth Lafan will again support a commercial fishery this year, but it is likely to be on a lesser scale than for last season.