An Overview of Policies for Shellfish Fishing in the Wadden Sea

In this 2002-report an overview of national shellfish policies in the trilateral Wadden Sea is presented. The need for a systematic overview of facts and figures was felt by the Trilateral Working Group in the preparatory phase of the 9th Trilateral Governmental Conference. The information in this Report is divided into two categories, namely blue mussel and cockle fisheries and other shellfish fisheries. For both categories first a summary of relevant trilateral agreements is given, followed by relevant national information. The latter is divided into an introduction, the legal basis, policy, management and research.

This report does not address shrimp fishing. That is because, with the exception of the Danish and most of the Hamburg parts of the Conservation Area, where shrimp fishing is not allowed, there are no substantial differences in policies and practices within the Trilateral Cooperation Area. Moreover there is little information about the effects of shrimping on the benthos and consequently on the relevant Targets.

It should be noted that this Report only provides an overview of national policies and not an assessment of the differences in these policies. Such an analysis was agreed upon at the Esbjerg Conference (ED §9) and will be carried out in the framework of the implementation of the Esbjerg Declaration.

Three Annexes are attached in which an overview of relevant facts and figures regarding policy and management (Annex 1), a map with permanently closed areas for mussel fishing (Annex 2) and the development of intertidal mussel stocks (Annex 3) are presented. It is stressed that the figures presented are based upon best available data, but that for several parameters the data base is not very firm.

Citation: CWSS (2002) Shellfish Fisheries. An Overview of Policies for Shellfish Fishing in the Wadden Sea. Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.