‘ Solway Cockle Fishery Study ’

1. ‘Solway Cockle Fishery Study’ A review of management options Thursday 22nd May at the Selkirk Arms in Kirkcudbright

2. Project Background • The Review was commissioned, coordinated and supported by: • The Solway Firth Partnership. • The review was carried out by: • Tristan Southall & Dr Oliver Tully • The Review was Funded by: Dumfries & Galloway Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG)

3. Project Aims: • Review: • Existing information on stock status • Existing management measures • Past management experience • Explore: • Possible future management scenarios • Other relevant fishery examples • Recommend • Key considerations for future management

4. Project Sources: • A largely desk-based review. • No primary research was undertaken – it draws on past work (in particular past stock surveys). • Meetings were held with the Solway Firth Partnership and Marine Scotland. • Telephone consultations were held with: • former SSMA committee members – including Councillors, Industry Representatives, SNH and RSPB.

5. Solway Cockle Fishery Timeline

6. Stock Management Considerations • A 20 year cockle survey time series is available for the Solway. The survey data provides: • estimates of total biomass, • commercial biomass, • non-commercial biomass, • age structure • maps the patterns and trends of these variables. • A valuable resource to inform discussions of future management. What does this tell us?

7. Landings & biomass of cockles in Solway during the period 1987-2007.

8. Life History of Cockles • Fishery potential • Spawning (stock) • Settlement • Growth V Mortality • Balance of these rates determines how best to exploit the stock • Fast growth & low mortality = high MLS & frequent fisheries • Slow growth & high mortality = low MLS & probably infrequent fisheries • 1 winter, 2 winters or 3 winters ? • Commercial biomass • Fishery • Spawning stock

9. Spawning potential and recruitment Dundalk: Environmental effects on recruitment Maintaining a given level of spawning stock tends to result in better recruitment

10. Conversion of non-commercial to commercial biomass Conversion ratios Weight at harvest size is >9 times higher than in first few months post settlement

11. Harvest Rules & exploitation rates Two questions to consider: • How to manage spawning potential • Spatial reserves (in sensitive habitats) • Size refugia (below the minimum size) • Unexploited cockles above the MLS in the fishery area • Limit reference point: is it 100 tonnes per square km? • Develop a spatial index of spawning potential • How to optimise yields from a given recruitment • Depends on the balance of growth and mortality • Ecosystem requirements • And how spawning potential is to be managed In previous management plan

12. Harvest rules and exploitation rates - Recommendations • Review the 20 years of survey data • estimate age specific mortality rates • include space (habitat) and density (of cockles) in this assessment • ‘Characterise’ Solway cockles • winters to reach minimum size • does mortality show pattern or is it highly variable • do cockles in certain habitats do better than others • what is the relationship with birds • get new data on meat yields (seasonality, size) • Develop the harvest strategy based on above

13. What size of fishery can we expect? • Using the 33% ‘rule of thumb’ and looking at previous survey data 11 consecutive years when TAC could have been >1,500 tonnes

14. Managing a fishery of variable size

15. Managing a fishery of variable size

16. Ecosystem Considerations • Solway is internationally important ecosystem, reflected in a number of designations. • Overwintering birds. • Safeguarding the ecosystem is important objective of sustainable fisheries management. • No obvious adverse effect from existing fishery, but this has been restricted in scale and range. • Important to retain ecosystem considerations from previous management plan. • Potential impacts well understood • Undertake Appropriate Assessment on harvest strategy in relation to conservation objectives.

17. Enforcement Considerations • The scale of the Solway, with ease of access mean enforcement is a challenge. IUU has historically been a problem: • Depletes available resource • Undermines faith in management (Incentivises non-compliance) • Reason for some optimism that scale of IUU reduced in the last decade. • Legislative changes (i.e. equipped to fish). • Focus on Food Safety / transport. • Informal approaches to enforcement are possible by designing ‘stewardship’ into the management system. • But given history and physical characteristics of the fishery this is unlikely to be sufficient.

18. Market Considerations • Price is dependent on market factors. Some of which are predictable. • Manage the fishery to sustainably maximise income, without additional environmental burden. • Price is dependent on yield. Yields are higher in the late summer months and fall off significantly into the autumn and winter months. • A delay in opening the fishery causes: • fewer market opportunities • considerably reduced incomes • Reduced potential for any management cost recovery.

19. How will costs be met?

20. Future Options - Legislation • Management needs to be designed around the available legislative tools: • Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967 • Inshore Fishing (Scotland) Act 1984 • the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 • Each option has limitations and strong implications in terms of who will be responsible for (and pay for) management. • A Regulating or Hybrid Order: •  restricted licencing  clearly defined fishery boundaries, flexible licence conditions potential for cost recovery. •  considerable (financial) responsibility on management grantee, which must first be identified .  Difficult approval process • A Fishing Order: • Strong statutory & administrative backing  Inflexible (prohibit within a defined area (and if necessary a defined period) either all fishing or fishing for a particular species with a particular gear)

21. Future Options - Responsibility • IFGs are not IFCAs. • Budgets, capacity, legislative power, property & equipment. • Marine Scotland • Have more legislative power (albeit inflexible), but limited local presence and limited engagement in inshore adaptive stock management. • Local Grantee • Regulating Order would require this – but who? Who will lead on management?

22. Management Recommendations (1) • Developing the Harvest Strategy • Review and further analyse the 20 year survey data • Propose reference points and harvest rules (inc. environmental elements.) • Agree management objectives and resource allocation policy with all stakeholders • Develop a multi-annual approach; management plan, • Undertake AA (& bird model) of the scenarios within the multi-annual plan • Routine Monitoring and Assessment • Licence holders should participate in provision of scientific data • Surveys and TAC advice should be delivered in later summer • TAC advice should be based upon agreed management plan • Fishers should be made aware of where to fish • Fishery dependent reporting may also supplement survey

23. Management Recommendations (2) • Probable Design • Fishery should be in autumn • The season should be fixed and limited • A combination of dredge and hand gathering licences will allow for TAC take up • Very clear entry and exit rules for licence holders should be defined • Avoid taking high TACs from bumper recruitments; these events could de-stabilise management and more likely create adverse environmental impacts. • Harvest rules should facilitate control and enforcement (Stewardship)

24. Outstanding Questions • Legislative structure • Management & Administrative Structure (including service provision). • Operational economics: • Scope for cost recovery (licence fee structure) • How fixed costs will be met A viable fishery is achievable, but the development process is likely to need commitment and patience.

25. Thank you Tristan Southall tristan@tdsouthall.co.uk www.tdsouthall.co.uk +44 (0)1599 544244 +44 (0)7815 053237

26. Appendix 1 Characteristics of Good Management

27. Characteristics of Good Management (P1) • Clear management units – clearly defined stock definition (and underlying rationale / assumptions) • Collection of appropriate information (computerised, time series tailored to HCR) • Understanding of stock status – appropriate to life history / exploitation rate • Adaptive management response (HCR) • Transparent (stakeholder buy-in) decision rules. • Timely Review & Evaluation

28. Characteristics of Good Management (P2) • Data – discards, ETP interactions and ecosystem impacts - based on direct observation / independent verification / risk assessment. • Information of ecosystem characteristics / distribution & changes over time. • Understanding of spatial distribution of fleet activity (appropriate to scale of potential impact). • A management review mechanism which allows for management action in event of ecosystem impacts or risk caused by fishing (ideally supported by decision rules where appropriate defining potential management action - spatial, temporal, technical etc). • Codes of Conduct – industry led.

29. Characteristics of Good Management (P3) • Good match between management jurisdiction & stock management scale. • Limited entry / ring fencing / community ownership / stewardship of resource (allowing fair, non-discriminatory and equitable access e.g. to new entrants). TEST: what would happen if price doubled overnight? Displacement from other fisheries. • Stakeholder engagement in management process – and feedback of management performance. • Research and information collection tailored to the needs of management. • Management & enforcement appropriate to the scale (and risk) of the fishery – and stakeholder understanding of the reason for this. • Defined fishery specific objectives and decision-making processes (transparent & understood – simple & clear). • Timely Review and Evaluation – ideally holistically as well as component parts.

30. Appendix 2 Dundalk Cockle Fishery

31. Dundalk Bay: Cockle fishery plan 2011-2016

32. Dundalk Bay: Cockle fishery plan 2011-2016 • Low density • High Growth rate • Annual settlement • Variable mortality

33. Dundalk Bay: Cockle fishery • Fishing area potentially = 60km2 (annually 10-20km2) • Minimum size = 22mm shell width (national legislation is 17mm) • Harvest rules • Minimum size = 22mm shell width • 750 tonnes total biomass AND density <4 = no fishery (limit reference point) • 750-3000 tonnes biomass harvest ratio is 33% • >3000 tonnes biomass harvest ratio is 50% • Closure conditions • Kgs per day <250kg • November 1st • TAC is taken • Operational restrictions • Fishing during 4.2m tides or higher • Dredge width 0.75m suction, 1.0m non-suction • Resource allocation • Daily maximum catch = 1 tonne • 33 dredge (transferable capacity) • 20 hand gathering

34. Dundalk Bay: Cockle fishery • Annual sequence of events • Survey end of June • TAC advice first week of July • IF biomass >750 tonnes • Licence applications • Licences issued • Fishery opens (August) • Monitoring • Daily landings (gatherers dockets, logbooks) • Daily catch rate (for catch rate closure rule) • Cumulative landings in relation to TAC • Environmental monitoring • Bird counts during and after fishery • Feeding behaviour oystercatcher • Benthic data polychaete:bivalve ratio • Closure Nov 1st if TAC not taken and if CPUE>250kg

35. Appendix 3 Marine Stewardship Council

36. MSC Structure