New Plans for Burry Inlet

Environment Agency Wales (EAW) has developed new plans to manage the Burry Inlet fishery and is asking local cocklers for their views.

EAW wants to restore stocks of cockles in the Burry Inlet as it recognises the importance of healthy stocks to the fishery and the local economy, as well as to the wildlife that rely on cockles as a source of food.

The draft management plan builds on the existing plan for the fishery and also includes a number of outcomes from the recent cockle mortality investigation.

The three year investigation into the cockle deaths on the Burry Inlet was one of the most in-depth investigations of its kind, in which all probable causes of cockle deaths since 2002 were examined.

The final report confirmed that there was no evidence to show that pollution was the cause of the cockle deaths. It concluded that there was not one clear cause of the deaths, but probably a combination of issues including parasites, over-crowding and the condition of the cockles after spawning.

Measures in the new management plan include:

• Improving the accuracy of assessing cockle stocks;

• Splitting the Bury Inlet into five specific areas;

• A more effective model to identify the total allowable catch of cockles; and

• Measures to ensure the biological integrity of the area

Steve Brown, Environment Agency Wales said:

“The new plans that we are developing with the industry will be vital in securing sustainable stocks for the future. We want to improve the fishery for the community whose livelihoods depend on it and to do so in balance with the wider needs of the environment.

“We are developing this plan with the local cocklers as they are a key part of this process to secure the fishery for generations to come.”

Cockle licence holders have until 27 September 2012 to put forward their views on the new plans which will also be discussed at the Burry Inlet Management Advisory Group (BIMAG) meetings between the cocklers and the Agency.