EcoSF4 call-off: Le Strange Fish Surveys

The Wash is one of the largest protected sites in the country, exceeding 60,000ha in area and has exceptional wildlife importance. The Le Strange estate private cockle and mussel fisheries operates on the eastern side of The Wash. Cockle and mussel bed communities are key attributes of The Wash and North Norfolk Coast SAC, and important feeding habitats for bird species (including oystercatcher and knot, protected under The Wash SPA). The cockle and mussel beds cover an area of approximately 1,000ha and 15ha respectively. The draft Fisheries Management Plan sets out the long term agreed Fisheries Management Principles. These Principles are applied to data obtained through annual stock assessments for both cockle and mussel to set out annual management measures (e.g., setting Total Allowable Catch (TAC), specifying beds open to fishing). After each fishing season, fisheries footprint and other data is used to assess how the fishery has performed against these measures. This contract will involve data collection through annual cockle and mussel surveys, applying the fisheries management principles to this data to set the annual fisheries measures, and post-season review of how the fishery performed in relation to these measures. It will also involve documentation of the mussel fishery through discussion with the fisheries tenants, and development of mussel post fishery evaluation methodology. It will involve understanding some of the stock dynamics and condition of the mussel and cockle beds as protected features, and critical evaluation of the fisheries management principles and recommendations for improvements to management.