This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Crackdown on illegal cockling
16/09/2005
Following operations carried out by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency, Fisheries Minister Ross Finnie today reaffirmed his determination to crack down on illegal cockle fishing in the Solway Firth.
Mr Finnie said:
"The Solway is closed to cockling. Those who continue to fish are doing so with complete disregard for the law. I commend the efforts made by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency to curtail illegal activity and the efforts by the Dumfries and Galloway Police to address associated incidents.
"The Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency will use the full range of powers available to it to enforce the Solway closure whenever and wherever possible and will continue to seek to prosecute whoever is involved, as will Dumfries and Galloway Police.
"In many cases illegal cockle pickers are taking serious risks in an area where the tides are dangerous, the weather is unpredictable and the environment unforgiving. Not only are they putting their own lives in jeopardy the are doing likewise with the lives of those who may called upon to respond when difficulties occur.
The Inshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing for Cockles) Order 1995 closed the Solway to cockle fishing. The draft Solway Regulating Order - which proposes a scheme to re-open the fishery in a regulated and licensed manner - is subject currently to Inquiry, the sitting(s) for which are scheduled for 28 to 30 September.