Two different views on the proposals from the Welsh Government
1. ‘Proposed New Management Measures for the Scallop Fishery in Cardigan Bay’.
Welsh Government: ‘Please note that this is a re-launch and therefore the closing date has been extended. Current management measures for scallops within the protected site in Cardigan Bay (Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC)) allow only one area within the SAC being opened for a limited time each year for scallop dredging. These measures came into force in 2010 and were based on the limited evidence available at the time of inception. A programme of research has been undertaken by Bangor University, including a 2 year Scallop Fishing Intensity Experiment. This new evidence supports a controlled fishery in the area of the SAC which is currently closed to fishing.
Welsh Government now aims to establish a viable and sustainable scallop fishery within the currently closed area within Cardigan Bay SAC. Our intention is to introduce a flexible new management system which should ensure a sustainable supply of scallops into the future whilst safeguarding important marine species and habitats.
2. Object to more scallop dredging in Cardigan Bay SAC – West Wales Marine Conservation
‘There is a great deal wrong with this consultation. There is also a great deal of misleading and downright wrong information flying around the Internet, on websites, Facebook and Twitter. All the classic misinformation techniques are being used to undermine and ridicule objections to the consultation: cherry-picking, straw-man arguments, disregarding contrary evidence, endorsing invalid assumptions and more; beware.
It is important to remember that this consultation is about a suite of management measures, delivered as permit conditions, and not actually about whether more of the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC), an area of European marine nature conservation importance, should be reopened to scallop dredging – this consultation makes the presumption that this will happen. This is unacceptable. .. To read this article in full go to: http://www.wwmc.org.uk/