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Well-founded and supposed negative effects of cockle dredging on tidal-flat sediment and fauna: A review of contributions of ecological research

Published studies on effects of mechanical dredging on tidal flats for cockles (Cerastoderma edule) are critically reviewed, with special emphasis on studies in the Dutch Wadden Sea. The evidence on fishery-caused changes in sediment composition is contradictory, but some loss of silt and coarsening of the sediment was found in part of the fished areas. However, the part of the tidal flats touched annually in the Wadden Sea was invariably small (mostly only a few percent) and recovery was rapid. Generally, negative effects on bivalve recruitment following fishing were not established. Negative effects on non-target fauna were always present but variable. Recovery of the fauna was generally rapid. The stocks of adult cockles were thinned, but high proportions were caught …

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