Views are being sought by Defra on the impacts and consequences of a proposal to close the whole outer area of the Fal and Helford Special Area of Conservation to scallop dredging and demersal trawls.

The period of consultation is six weeks starting today rather than the standard 12 weeks and will end on Friday April 18.

The reason for the shorter period is the “high risk” that infraction proceedings may be initiated against the UK Government by the European Commission alleging contravention of the EC Habitats Directive.

The Fal and Helford Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is a sheltered marine and estuarine site within Falmouth Bay off the southern Cornish coast.

It was identified as a candidate SAC in 1996 under the Habitats Directive and has subsequently been designated for a number of habitats and features. These features include sandbanks and maerl bed communities. Beds of maerl (the collective term for several species of calcified red seaweed) are of particular value because of the diversity of species they may support. However, they are susceptible to damage from scallop dredging and other towed bottom gears, which in turn may threaten the conservation objectives of the SAC.

Scallop dredging has taken place within the area of the SAC for the past 30 years. Historical activity has been low, mainly occurring during winter months when vessels have been unable to fish in exposed waters. There was an escalation in dredging at the end of 2006 that was brought about by a prolonged period of bad weather and good catches from within the site. This increase in activity called into question the degree of protection afforded to the SAC by the SAC management plan. To address this issue a voluntary agreement was developed in March 2007 by the local fishermen and the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee. The agreement closed the SAC to all scallop dredging in the months of January to October and allowed local vessels to fish for 15 days a month each in November and December, but only in a strictly defined area, which amounted to 28% of the outer SAC (called the Designated Area in the draft Order). Mechanical scallop dredging is already prohibited in the inner SAC areas of the Fal and Helford estuaries by an Environment Agency Byelaw.

In the spring of 2007, a limited survey of the outer SAC was conducted by the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee. Evidence from this survey was presented at a meeting in September 2007 where a new revised voluntary agreement was also reached. Natural England’s assessment of the survey data was that it did not change their general advice to close the SAC to scallop dredging. In order for scallop dredging to continue it is necessary,say Defra, to prove beyond reasonable scientific doubt that scallop dredging and other towed gears would not damage the features for which the site was designated.

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