Common cockle

The stock of cockles in the Netherlands is assessed annually, and 2.5% of the available stock may be harvested. In spring 2020, the stock was at its lowest level since 2003, due to poor recruitment in 2018 and increased mortality in the summer of 2019.

When cockles are harvested by hand, negative impacts on vulnerable species are unlikely, and juvenile cockles are not retained due to their low commercial value. Handpicking has no impact on the seabed, while hand raking for mussels poses only a small risk to benthic animals. Cockles are also an important food source for several seabird species.

Management of the cockle fishery is carried out locally and includes measures such as closed seasons, monitoring, enforcement and stakeholder involvement. Management is considered effective.

The last assessment of this fishery was conducted in 2017.

The status of the stock of cockles in FAO 27 varies by area and is generally uncertain. In 2014, catches in the Northeast Atlantic amounted to 10,315 tonnes, and stock size can vary considerably from year to year due to factors including temperature, food relationships and fishing.

Fishing with dredges damages various vulnerable benthic animals and causes substantial disturbance to the seabed. There is little information on juvenile and non-target species in the catch, but minimum landing sizes limit the catch of juvenile cockles. Cockle fishing can also have major consequences for the Wadden Sea ecosystem because cockles are an important food source for seabirds.

Management of the cockle fishery is carried out locally and includes measures such as closed seasons, monitoring, enforcement and stakeholder involvement. Due to restrictions on fishing, the ecological impacts of dredging are now considered less severe than in previous assessments, and management is considered more effective.

Some cockle fisheries using dredges are MSC certified.

Cockles have been MSC(EN) MSC:
Marine Stewardship Council, an independent, international non-profit organization that has developed an eco-label that guarantees well-managed, sustainable fisheries. Fish products that meet the criteria of the eco-label can be identified by the blue MSC logo.-certified since 2012. In the Netherlands, cockles are fished in the Wadden Sea and Oosterschelde. Under the MSC label, these fisheries are committed to simulating sustainable fishing. For example, they do not fish in areas of high ecological importance for breeding birds. MSC(EN) MSC:
Marine Stewardship Council, an independent, international non-profit organization that has developed an eco-label that guarantees well-managed, sustainable fisheries. Fish products that meet the criteria of the eco-label can be identified by the blue MSC logo.-certified cockles are fished with handHand dredges:
A fishing method used to harvest cockles with a type of rake. This is a labour-intensive method, widely used in the Dutch cockle fishery on the Wadden Sea. dredges and dredgesBoat dredges:
A fishing method used for collecting shellfish and crustaceans from the bottom. The ship drags a steel frame with a net over the bottom, in which shellfish and crustaceans are caught. Large ships can drag multiple dredges simultaneously, on each side of the ship.    .