A re‐evaluation of the effects of mechanical cockle dredging in the Dutch Wadden Sea

Abstract

Abstract Marine bivalves provide an important seafood resource, but conflicts between bivalve fisheries and conservation goals may arise. A scientific debate about cockle dredging in the Dutch Wadden Sea resulted in an apparent consensus among scientists of a severe and long‐lasting impact of the mechanical fisheries, and the fisheries were banned. Specifically, two highly cited papers concluded that the fisheries caused a strong reduction in bivalve recruitment for a period of 8 years and that the fisheries led to the loss of red knots from the Dutch Wadden Sea and a decline of the European wintering population. Here, we show that these papers had severe shortcomings in terms of data selection and data analysis and we challenge their conclusions.