Cockling should be policed strongly, Mr Purdie said

Solway Shellfish Management Association chairman Jock Purdie has warned of potential trouble between legal and illegal cockling teams.

A regulating order has been tabled at Holyrood to reopen the Scottish cockle beds under a new licensing system.

Mr Purdie said strong sanctions would still be needed to stop illegal gangs.

The Solway cockle fishery was closed to vessels in 1992, to tractor dredges in 1995 and to all forms of cockling in 2002 to protect stocks and permit regeneration.

But Fisheries Minister Ross Finnie has put an order before the Scottish Parliament to allow cockling beds to reopen.

The move came after repeated warnings that illegal cockling gangs were risking their lives in the fast tidal waters off south west Scotland.

If it is just a minor thing they will not be worried. It has got to be really strong powers or we are wasting our time Jock Purdie Solway Shellfish Management Association

Mr Purdie warned that giving out licences to some cocklers would not be enough in itself to dissuade illegal gangs.

"We have got to have strong powers to actually control illegal fishing," he said.

"I think it has got to be confiscating equipment," he added. "You have got to hit them hard in the pocket to make sure they don't come back.

"If it is just a minor thing they will not be worried. It has got to be really strong powers or we are wasting our time," said Mr Purdie.