Burry Inlet

Case Study A

Bird species included in model

Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)

Environmental issues simulated

Cold winter conditions increasing energy requirements, plus shellfishery management changing habitat area, habitat availability time, food quality.

Recommendations from modelling

Current shellfishing intensity does not reduce shorebird survival, but reduced fishable size or increased daily quota could.

More information

 West, A.D., Goss-Custard, J.D., McGrorty, S., Stillman, R.A., Durell, S., Stewart, B., Walker, P., Palmer, D.W. and Coates, P.J., 2003. The Burry shellfishery and oystercatchers: using a behaviour-based model to advise on shellfishery management policy. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 248: 279-292.

Stillman, R.A., Goss-Custard, J.D., West, A.D., Durell, S.E.A.L.V.D., McGrorty, S., Caldow, R.W.G., Norris, K.J., Johnstone, I.G., Ens, B.J., Van Der Meer, J. and Triplet, P., 2001. Predicting shorebird mortality and population size under different regimes of shellfishery management. Journal of Applied Ecology, 38(4): 857-868.

Funding

Countryside Council for Wales, Commission of the European Communities, Directorate-General for Fisheries, Natural Environment Research Council

Case Study B

Bird species included in model

Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)

Environmental issues simulated

Shellfishery management changing habitat area 

Recommendations from modelling

Shellfishery management needs to reserve up to 8 times more shellfish biomass than consumed by Oystercatcher populations.

More information

Goss-Custard, J.D., Stillman, R.A., West, A.D., Caldow, R.W.G., Triplet, P., le V dit Durell, S.E.A. and McGrorty, S., 2004. When enough is not enough: shorebirds and shellfishing. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 271(1536): 233-237.

Funding

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology