Vacuum dredging for cockles???

can someone confirm that this going to happen?
When is it going to start.

here is what i think you should do

if you live in the waterford constitutency and are eligible to vote
contact the local TDs
[url]http://www.rte.ie/news/elections2007/results/constit-41.html[/url] is a list of the results from there in the last election


AS you can see Martin Cullen and John Deasy polled well and will probably ignore you. my betting is that the other 2 TDs might be more inclined to listen to you as they just got in and need to be doing something towards the next election.

is there any local environment group you could contact?

we really need to do some thing about this and not just be disgusted

If anybody wants to try and do something I would be willing to travel from tralee and do some leafleting in waterford for a day.

When are the council elections?

I live in the passage East/ Woodstown area.
The beach in Woodstown between the shore and the oyster beds has been hovered for cockles a while back.
A local boat was responsible and apparently he has a license to do it.

The adjoining beach, between Woodstown and Passage, locally called the Barracks Strand was also hovered clean by a crowd from Wexford some years ago with out a license.
They were subsequently forced to reseed the bank and there are healthy beds of cockles there now.
Razor shells are available here but they are much further out and I don't think would be effected by cockle boats.

The back strand in Tramore has been safe for years.
Some years ago industrial strength cockle machines accompanied by 2 articulated lorries invaded this strand and started to fill the trucks with cockles, heading for France apparently.
However, they were stopped from leaving by a local who blocked the exit.
They were subsequently forced to return their catch to the sand.

A greater danger to the bass stocks in this area , are local poachers who regularly net Woodstown Strand and the Back Strand outlet in Tramore.

Here is some stuff i found in the scientific community about the effects of Cockle dredging in the Dutch Weddell sea.
here is the gist of there conclusions:

Title: Long-term indirect effects of mechanical cockle-dredging on intertidal bivalve stocks in the Wadden Sea

1. There is world-wide concern about the effects of bottom-dredging on benthic communities in soft sediments. In autumn 1988, almost a third of the 50-km intertidal system around the island of Griend in the western Dutch Wadden Sea was suction-dredged for edible cockles and this study assessed subsequent effects. An adjacent area not directly touched by this fishery and an area from which the mussel beds were removed, served as reference areas.

2. Sediment characteristics, together with the total stock size and settlement densities of
Cockles, Baltic telling and soft-shelled clam were documented during 11 successive autumns before (August–September 1988 ) and after (August–September 1989–98 ) the suction-dredging event in fished and unfished areas. Four other areas in the Dutch Wadden Sea, where changes in densities of juvenile bivalves from 1992 to 1998 were measured, served as additional reference locations.

3. Between 1988 and 1994, median sediment grain size increased while silt was lost from sediments near Griend that were dredged for cockles. The initial sediment character -characteristics were re-attained by 1996.

4. After the removal of all mussels and most cockles, the abundance of Baltic telin declined for 8 years. From 1989 to 1998, stocks of cockle, Baltic telin and mussel did not recover to the 1988 levels, with the loss of cockles and Baltic telin being most pronounced in the area dredged for cockles. Declines of bivalve stocks were caused by particularly low rates of settlement in fished areas until 1996, i.e. 8 years after the dredging.

5. A comparison of settlement in the short (1992–94 ) and medium term (1996–98 ) after
cockle-dredging in several fished and unfished areas spread over the entire Dutch Wadden Sea, showed a significant negative effect of dredging on subsequent settlement of cockles and Baltic telin also declined, but not significantly.

6. We conclude that suction-dredging of cockles had long-lasting negative effects on recruitment of bivalves, particularly the target species, in sandy parts of the Wadden Sea basin. Initially, sediment reworking by suction-dredging (especially during autumn storms) probably caused losses of fine silts. Negative feedback processes appeared to follow that prevented the accumulation of fine-grained sediments conducive to bivalve settlement.

Our conclusion, that cockle-dredging leads to a significant long-term reduction in settlement and stocks of the target species


The attached doc. is a government order for the Solent banning this fishing
technique as the solent is a SAC (Special order of conservation). its its considered that destructive.. why is it allowed anywhere else?

for my two sense..

using this technique supply's a large volume of cockles to the market. (possibly harvested in an unsustainable and non-environmentally friendly manner) would it not be better to collect in a more environmentally friendly manner (hand picking, land based mechanical methods), less cockles to the market = better price (supply and demand).

but.... chances of the government taking a proactive step in the fishing industry.. nil. prob ban the technique when there are no cockle beds left and the habitat has been destroyed past self repair.

Sure there free until someone catches them...

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

More human story of the cockle collectors

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmont ... 58,00.html

Just to let you know,
These boats are due to start fishing the backstrand area of tramore this coming Monday. This is all the info that I have at the moment but will keep you informed as I learn more.

There will be a protest held there the same day and if you have some time to spare, your attendance would be appreciated.

Nice one Paul, just asking anyone with any contacts or influence to get in touch with anyone who might be able to stop this happening. No need to repeat any of what has already been said about the potential disaster facing the entire area if this goes ahead.

is that next monday paul? might have to get time off work

i can be there, what time?

yeah lads next monday.get the word around.

This should get some media attention,someone should arrange for a reporter from here, http://www.indymedia.ie/newswireto be present.This group could also throw a spanner in the works, http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.net/index.html

This should get some media attention,

Hi All,

Just something for you guys to think about before you act on this one!

It may also bring much more unwanted attention as more boats will turn their fishing attention on the area.

This happened a few years back here in Cork Harbour when a local boat started towing scallop dredges. Due to the noise made by both protests and some unscrupulous fish buyers she was soon joined by several boats from as far away as Castletownbere and Dunmore East They cleaned out the worlds second largest natural harbour in less than 3 weeks doing untold damage to the sea bed. Some then turned their attention to razor fish dredging which again was short lived due to the extent of their operations.

Large scale well organised protests and blockades by commercial fishing boats, angling boats and environmental groups, also proved futile against the commercial dredging of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sand from one of Cork Harbour's main marine life nursery areas the Spit Bank for the sand required in the construction of the Jack Lynch Tunnel.

The same Large scale well organised protests and blockade by commercial fishing boats, angling boats and environmental groups proved futile to stop the dumping of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of seriously toxic material dredged up from the sea bed for the tunnel construction just off Cork Harbour right on top of the fishing grounds.

These protests and the blockade were headline news nightly on RTE news and all other local and national media at the time but still proved futile!

Another thing some new to small boat angling may not know is that a vessel engaged in fishing is a vessel with restricted manoeuvrability therefore has legal right of way, so if you go out trying to block his way and he hits you or damages his vessel trying to avoid you then you are legally responsible (whether or not he is legally fishing or not is irrelevant in this law) so think before you act.

The moral of all this is not to go in half cocked you may make a bad situation worse. You need to get a good plan of action and team up with the right people to make a difference.


Jim

Hello Mohawk,
Just to let you know that there is a lot going on behind the scenes so we are far from going off half cocked as you put it.
This is the second time that this has been attempted in this area and we successfully put a stop to it the first time.
Are you suggesting that because others have failed that we should not try to stop this?
The area in question is a small area and will not take the two boats long to empty the area so attracting other boats to the area by highlighting this will not be a problem.

Hello Mohawk,
Just to let you know that there is a lot going on behind the scenes so we are far from going off half cocked as you put it.
This is the second time that this has been attempted in this area and we successfully put a stop to it the first time.
Are you suggesting that because others have failed that we should not try to stop this?
The area in question is a small area and will not take the two boats long to empty the area so attracting other boats to the area by highlighting this will not be a problem.

I think you should read what I said again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was just giving you guys an insight of past experiences of something on a much, much, much larger scale to a few cockles in a small area as you put it down in Tramore. If the politicians couldn't care less about the second largest natural harbour in the world being highlighted on national TV news nightly, I can't see why they will care about a "small area" in Tramore.

As for other boats not being interested in a small area just have a look at the front page of the current edition of the marine times. What do you you think that photograph says??????

http://www.marinetimes.ie/

The "Half Cocked" remark was obviously well founded as you can see by the moderators having to remove "Stupid" posts! You yourself may not be going off "Half Cocked" but that does not mean everyone will go off with the same level headedness.

So as I said I would advise that you guys plan it well before you act, a minority that go in half cocked may just botch it all up for everyone.


Jim

Tramore Town Council are meeting tonight and there is a motion before the council seeking their support in having the Cockle Harvesting stopped. A PEACEFUL show of people outside the offices prior to the meeting will put pressure on the members to vote in favour of the motion. Anyone can attend, posters welcome, letters of objection from clubs can be handed in also, civic offices are located near the Christian Brothers School, Tramore Meet at 6.30pm at the offices.

Tramore Town Council are meeting tonight and there is a motion before the council seeking their support in having the Cockle Harvesting stopped. A PEACEFUL show of people outside the offices prior to the meeting will put pressure on the members to vote in favour of the motion. Anyone can attend, posters welcome, letters of objection from clubs can be handed in also, civic offices are located near the Christian Brothers School, Tramore Meet at 6.30pm at the offices

Count me in. I will get a few of our crowd on board.

I think you should read what I said again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have and I appreciate your input. I take on-board what you said about individuals going about it the wrong way and possibly staining the rest of us. I ask anybody who is interested in attending to contact myself or a couple of others on the site (sharky, Barry Murphy) as to what is planed before launching a one man boycott as we can be heard better if we speak as one on this matter.
If anybody is free for an hour this evening from 6ish please attend the meeting in tramore.
Thanks.

A number of people gathered at the Civic offices last night to ask for the support of the councillors on the motion before them. We were received favourable and were allowed to attend the discussion on the motion. All the members supported the motion. They have agreed to make representations and hold another meeting if necessary to get a stop put to the dredging. Watch this site for an update.

Without going into a lot of detail of what has happened, the good news is that the dredging for cockles has been stopped. The dept of the Marine has instructed the boat owner he is not allowed into the back strand on Mon next and that the closed season for harvesting cockles has been extended to an unknown date. A lot has went on behind the scenes after our meeting with Tramore TC and without their input it would not have happened. This is a great result for the common man/woman who came out in support of getting it stopped. To sceptics and believers alike, something can be done if you try hard enough.

Well done all.

Super stuff, weldone to all who gave this the attention it required!

Any chance ye can get busy with the netters now? Ye are doing mighty work.

Weldone again!

well done lads , good to see that community action can accomplish something.