Solway Cockle Fishery Management Study

4. Solway Cockle Fishery: Legislation and Governance

Areas of the Solway Firth are subject to a number of nature conservation designations, including Special Protection Area ( SPA) classified under theWild Birds Directive, and Special Area of Conservation ( SAC) designated under the Habitats Directive. The opening of the Solway Firth or the act of cockle fishing is subject to the assessment provisionsof Article 6 (3) of the Habitats Directive.

4.1 Special Area of Conservation ( SAC) Special Protected Area ( SPA)

Council Directive 92/43/ EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, is known as the Habitats Directive. The main aim of the Habitats Directive is to promote the maintenance and protection of biodiversity, habitats and species of European importance. Article 6.3 of the Directive states:

"Any plan or project not directly connected with or necessary to the management of the site but likely to have a significant effect thereon, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects shall be subject to appropriate assessment of its implications for the site in view of the site's conservation objectives…

…the competent national authorities shall agree to the plan or project only after having ascertained that it will not adversely affect the integrity of the site concerned…"

Council Directive 2009/147/ EC on the conservation of wild birds, is known as the Birds Directive. The main aim of this piece of legislation is the preservation, maintenance and restoration of diversity and habitats for the conservation of all species of birds. Under Article 4.1 of the Birds Directive, European Member States are required to ensure that species listed in Annex I are subject to special conservation measures concerning their habitat in order to ensure their survival and reproduction in their area of distribution. Under Article 3 of the Birds Directive, Member States also have to take measures to preserve, maintain or re-establish sufficient diversity and area of habitats for all species of bird.

Both the opening of the Solway cockle fishery or cockle fishing taking place would trigger the need for an Appropriate Assessment ( AA). The fishery can only be (re)opened or cockle fishing can only take place when it has been established by the AA that those activities would not affect the integrity of SACs (habitats directive) or SPAs (birds directive).

4.2 Surveys and Assessments

Determination of whether the Solway cockle fishery could be opened has in the past involved four stages. First is the cockle stock assessment, undertaken by or on behalf of Marine Scotland ( MS), to estimate the cockle biomass at size and age. Latterly the survey and assessment has included other key bivalve species e.g. Macoma balthica and Mytilus edulus , to inform environmental and biological requirements that need to be taken into account before a TAC can be set. The survey has beenundertaken or overseen by Marine Scotland Science ( MSS) on behalf of the Scottish Ministers.

Information about the distribution and density of cockles from the survey is of benefit to participants in any commercial fishery that may ensue, as it can provide the basis for a harvest plan which will allow for improved management and smoother running of the fishery. Second the application of a 'bird model' (see below) quantifies the needs of particular bird species protected under SPA classification. Third, using the bird model, a TAC is set todetermine the quantity of cockles which can be taken from the fishery.

Figure 2: Current process for conducting the appropriate assessment to decide on a TAC and open the fishery

4.3 Allocation to Seabirds - the Bird Model

An AA of the Solway cockle fishery takes into account the important role that cockles play in the intertidal ecosystem through the consumption of primary production, the movement of sediment, and as prey items for predators. Two species of bird, oystercatchers ( Haematopus ostralegus) and knot ( Calidris canutus) both listed in Annex 1 of the Birds Directive, prey directly on cockles. The AA recognises that the over exploitation of cockles through a commercial fishery has the potential to alter biotope communities through the removal of an important food source and the sediment movement function they perform. A significant effectis therefore expected should the resource be over-exploited. An AA would further identify that where a TAC for the commercial fishery is set too high, overexploitation would occur leading to a decrease in the survival and condition of both the knot and oystercatcher populations.

Should mitigation measures, which accommodate the requirements of the key dependent bird species, be successfully implemented, the conclusions of past AAs has been that a commercial fishery, with a specified TAC, would not adversely affect the integrity of the Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA. There is an assumption therefore that any future fishery would be managed by a TAC established within safe biological limits of the food requirements ofthe bird species dependent on shellfish. To achieve this, MS commissioned work with Bournemouth University to construct a modelto predict the interaction between cockle fishing and shorebirds. The model incorporates a range of factors and parameters developed for the circumstances of the two species feeding on shellfish in the estuary. The model calculates the prey stock required to support a healthy population of birds depends on estuary-specific features like the sediment type, food items and competition factors. To build safeguards into the model an overestimation of the birds food requirements is appliedThe model has been used inform the AA and set a suitable TAC for cockle fisheries on the Solway. It is assumed that the model would be used as the basis for any reopening of the Solway cockle fishery in the future.

4.4 Role and Responsibility of Governing Agencies

Marine Scotland ( MS) on behalf of the Scottish Government is responsible for the sustainable management of the area of the Solway that is within Scottish waters.

The Scottish Government under the habitats directive is responsible for ensuring that agreements madefor the opening or closing of the cockle fishery in the Scottish Solway are consistent with the requirements of the Birds and Habitats Directives. Scottish Naturall Heritage ( SNH) advise MS on whether or not a plan or project is likely to adversely affect any SACs or SPAs. The cockle stock assessments in the past have been carried out by MSS, or been undertaken by a third party and overseen by MSS. The TAC for the Solway Cockle Fishery has generally rangedfrom 22.5% up to 33% of cockle biomass above a prescribed MLS.

Figure 3: Roles of key governing agencies