Monitoring draagkracht mosselzaadinvanginstallaties (MZI’s) (KD-2017-007) (BO-11-018.02-056, BO-11-011.04-007)

As part of sustainable management of the Dutch coastal waters a transition from fishing for mussel seed to collecting mussel seed is presently carried out. This economic activity takes place in Natura 2000 areas. The Netherlands is obliged to comply to the nature conservation regulations. Therefore, central question is: Does the up-scaling of the use of seed collectors affect the carrying capacity for shellfish in the Wadden sea and Oosterschelde? The objective of the project is to monitor the carrying capacity indicators meat yield of mussels and growth rate of cockles and investigate if changes between years occur. A reduction in meat yield and growth rates indicates a reduction in carrying capacity. In addition, the contribution of collector mussels to the total bivalve stock will be estimated. For this, additional sampling  campaings will provide information on species that are currently not included in the regular surveys.