Coastal Zone Managment (Dredging in Falmouth)

Dredging in the Fal River in Cornwall

In 2003, the BBC reported on the pressure posed upon the scallop fishermen by the environmentalist wanting to reduce or ban the fishing practice within Carrick Roads in Cornwall.
By the end of 2007, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) threatened to complain to Brussels as they believed the threat to the marine environment by the industry was significant enough to warrant grave concern.
In the Telegraph, Jean-Luc Solandt of the MCS stated,
“We are giving the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee and Defra nine months to act to protect the threatened marine life in the Fal and Helford, an area designated for its internationally important marine habitats”.

As a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), an area protected under EU law designated under the European Union Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. The MCS have gone on to say
“If Defra does not take action to put an immediate stop to these activities, we will be forced to inform the European Commission that in our opinion, UK authorities are acting unlawfully under European law”.

The UK governmental group, the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), could face huge fines if found in breach.

Defra responded by saying,
"There is a long standing management agreement in place to protect the site that was agreed between Natural England, the local Sea Fisheries Committee and other interested parties”.

The local authority responsible for the control of the industry is Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee (CSFC) who re-opened the fishery in November after reaching an agreement with the local scallop fishermen on working dates and times.
Since this reversal, dredging for scallops within the Carrick Roads water system has bought a lot of attention.

Scallop dredging, which dates back 30 years or so within the Cornish fishing communities, is one of the diminishing industries in Cornwall, a Dutcy, that is already infected by low employment, low wages and high house prises.

Scallop dredging however, is damaging the bathology, and the benthic ecosystem associated with it, and Defra, employed an consultation with CSFC with reported, “they (maerl beds) are susceptible to damage from scallop dredging and other towed bottom gears, which in turn may threaten the conservation objectives of the SAC”

Natural England (NE) Wildlife & Countryside Link (WCL) and again with the MCS with a press release press release in March 2008 advised that Defra close the fishery.

Recently, Defra and the SCFC have taken into consultation
toward the banning of the industry to maintain and protect the SAC.
This would be a brave step in the movement towards environmental damage limitation within the SAC and surrounding areas of Falmouth. But, what it has install for the local community is another question.

Some useful links:
http://www.whitbyseaanglers.co.uk/north-east-fishing-news/fal-bay-trawling-ban
http://db.cornwall.gov.uk/documents/download.aspx?doc=327028
http://www.saveourseabirdscharitabletrust.org.uk/gulls_towns.htm
mailto:betty@chy-an-golvanas.wanadoo.co.uk