The traditional cockle fishery in the Burry Inlet estuary in Wales has achieved re-certification to the MSC’s environmental standard.
An independent assessment team analysed the cockle stock, looked at the impacts of the fishing activities on the marine environment and checked how the fishery is managed. The team has determined that the fishery meets the MSC criteria and may continue to sell cockles bearing the MSC eco-label for another five years - assuring consumers that the cockles are harvested in a sustainable way.
The Burry Inlet cockle fishery is located in Carmarthen Bay on the southern coast of Wales. Since Roman and medieval times the fishers have relied on hand-raking and sieving to collect cockles. The body responsible for managing the fishery, the South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee (SWSFC), takes a precautionary approach towards the fishery’s management and introduced a minimum landing size to protect the breeding stock as early as the 1920s.
Nick O'Sullivan, Chairman of the South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee, said: "On behalf of the Committee I am very pleased that MSC accreditation has been renewed for a further five years. This is a testament to the hard work of the Committee and its Officers and the good working relationship it has with the range of people who either work on the estuary and look after or enjoy its wildlife and habitat. Sadly, our large stock of cockles has been dying in the spring of each of the last five years due to some external events totally unrelated to fishing. This has placed pressure on the EU Special Protection Area status thereby providing additional management challenges. It is hoped that this certification will help draw attention to the situation and we are pressing for funding of joint agency research initiatives to identify the cause(s). Only having identified and rectified these will the cockle industry be able to capitalise on marketing initiatives that come from selling MSC certified product now recognised throughout the world.”
