Sunday 18th February was a little different from usual in that I went out to sea with local and regional fishermen to discuss the best ways to make the most of new fishing opportunities that have been identified in the Thames Estuary.
Alongside Cllr Nigel Folkard and National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) Chairman Paul Gilson, we joined West Mersea fisherman Christopher Mole on his boat for the day, where we talked all things fishing, oysters, clams and cockles.
The aim of the trip was to give me an idea of the size of the manila clam beds on the Buxey sands, an area currently designated for cockle harvesting only. We left West Mersea as the tide was dropping to go to the northwest corner of the sands, then down to Spitway and up the river Crouch. The local fishermen believe the manila clam beds to be 7 miles by nearly 2 miles, much bigger than initially thought especially given that this is just on this one sand bank alone.
They highlighted that razor clams are also to be found in some areas of the bank. They also pointed out that the east end of the Maplin sands and one of the big guts that drains off the southeast end have these clams in substantial amounts. They also believed that the once prolific cockle beds on these sands have been overwhelmed by the clams. This was highlighted by the negative quota cockle fishery that took place there recently.
It was also interesting to note the changes taking place, much of this bank now remains covered at low water. Areas that were once very firm are now very soft, which could be why we now have these newer species.
There is clearly a huge opportunity, with careful management, to create a new clam harvesting area to run alongside the cockle fishery since the clams mature at different times & possibly also an opportunity to develop new gigas oyster beds too. Bass fishing also appears to be another area where more efficient fishing methods could be employed to help local fishermen.
I now plan to convene a Kent and Essex fishing summit in Westminster to bring together MPs and fishermen from across the region to discuss how best to take these opportunities forward.
