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Rumour - Cockle rec quota's to be cut


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The Goolwa and Coffin Bay cockles are commanding high prices due to the popularity of traditional Paella in trendy restaurant's,mainly in the Eastern states.Therefore the Pro's will continue to hammer them. The Coffin Bay area in particular has had stocks severely depleted in the last few years. The amateur loses out again. >:( >:(

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Be interested to find the source of the very esteemed gentleman, was at SARFAC meeting 2 weeks ago & no mention of such came up, however it was stated the 07-08 commercial quota of 1100 tonnes was not reached, only 636 tonnes harvested, guess what next years commercial quota will be.Think Pipis at $15 a kilo is extravagant, wait a few months.I may yet stand corrected & in due course will state so, waiting with anticipation.Finatic

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I was predicting the rec limit being dropped over the close early this year.I'm not convinced stocks are as low as they say.Maybe they all bit the bullet for just this one season so that from now on they only have to collect half as many cockles for more money than they ever made.More money less work and over heads and it will get easier every year to collect their quota.I suggest this as why would they be so scarce below the mouth when Goolwa beach has as many as ever.I could be wrong though.Drawn

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It is probably a safe bet that the commercial quota will be reduced next season.While the total quota for last season was 1100 tonnes,the allocated,or allowable,catch quota was only around 800 tonnes,that is PIRSA said the pro cockler's were only allowed to take a maximum of 75% (approx.) of the available quota.The main reason the available quota was not reached was unusual seasonal conditions in Dec/Jan.In a normal season,a cold water upwelling from the Southern Ocean comes in during late April or early May,turning the water along the coast cold,which in turn "tell's" the cockles it is time to move out in to deeper water and breed.Unfortunately this cold water up-well started in December/January,4 months early,and sent most of the cockles out into water that was basically too deep to work successfully.Combine that with tidal changes etc,the little devils get hard to dig on a commercial scale.The end result was a slow down in supply,which in turn started a bidding war from the eastern states to get their hands on the cockles for bait (in Victoria) and food (in NSW),end result we end paying more to guarantee supply to the local market.Add to all this the fact that a pro cockler's cost's do not go down just because supply is reduced,they still have bills and wages to pay so reduced catch = higher prices to maintain income.In one case,a pro cockler's catch went from around 3-4 tonne per week,to around 600kg some weeks.This pro still had to pay 10+ workers their normal wage,or risk losing them from the industry permanently.The other problem is each pro cockler got a different quota,so some reached full quota at various times during the season,some did not reach quota at all.That is why some shops still have Goolwa's and some have run out,it depends on who we purchased from.All these factors combined will no doubt convice the "experts" at SARDI and PIRSA that the cockle fishery is in trouble because the catch is down and they will reduce quota again.I mean what sense would it make to them to talk to the people who's business it is to catch cockle's and see where the problem really is!Sorry for the long winded post,sometimes I get a bit carried away!

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I thought similar to drawn, that the rec limit would be cut, but heard recently that pirsa has no plans at all to cut the limit in the next season at least. Agree with drawn, the cockles are still there in good numbers. There is often a gloomy picture painted by many who would do anything to keep people away from the area.This report is getting a bit old now, but is still an interesting read about the research that has actually occurred with Goolwa cockles, I leant a lot from it:http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/13007/stock_assmnt_report_goolwa_cockle_2003.pdfAn interesting point from it: Cockles market price was $1.12 a kilo in 2001.CheersBruce

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binksmarine posted

The main reason the available quota was not reached was unusual seasonal conditions in Dec/Jan.In a normal season,a cold water upwelling from the Southern Ocean comes in during late April or early May,turning the water along the coast cold,which in turn "tell's" the cockles it is time to move out in to deeper water and breed.

G'day binksmarineJust thought I would add this, only what I read As quoted from South Australian angler, artical "What's happening with our cockles" by Peter Muirhaead April/May 08. "At this stage, no changes are proposed to the recreational daily bag limit of 600" and"The closed season of June 1 to the end of October will continue to apply to both sectors. This shut down is more a concession to the harsh winter conditions experienced on this stretch of coast rather than for any biological reason, as the Goolwa cockle breeds year round"I hope this information is the latest and isn't already outdated. Wouldn't be surprised if it is though, the way things are changing so darned fast.
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Just a little off the subject , have just had a week off and headed up to Port Macquarie to stay with my sister for a week, who was largely unimpressed by the fact that I was so keen to check out tackle shops and not dress shops cockles 4.40 for what looked like around 3/4 kilo of cockles , same price in all the shops I checked out.Wasn't all that impressed by the shops we have much better here from what I saw. Robyn.

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Not a hundred percent sure guy in the shop was pretty arrogant the cockles looked ok to me just interesting the price difference some shops called them cockles some pippis.Didn't get to go fishing but did go whale watching on a tour boat it has to rate as one of the most amazing things I've done, the boat took us to see a female humpback and calf nice but pretty tame then the captain says lets go play with the big boys so the boats just idling and the next thing three huge humpback males burst the surface one right next to the boat next to my sister who jumped six foot and didn't know whether to sh*t herself or grin with excitement ! what an experience something to recomend and only 49 dollars a pop.

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