I & I NSW Wild Fisheries research Program Cockles (Arcoida and Veneroida)

Exploitation Status Undefined

No assessment is available for any of the harvested and reported within this group. Basic biological information is available for some species, but useful fishery data are lacking.

Scientific name common name comment

Anadara trapezia Sydney cockle Sometimes called blood cockles.

Katelysia rhytiphora sand cockle Marketed as vongoli.

Katelysia scalarina sand cockle Marketed as vongoli.

Glycymeris flammeus shiny dog cockle Also called flame dog cockle.

Callista (Notocallista) kingii venus shell Marketed as baby clams.

Eucrassatella kingicola King island crassatella Marketed as surf clams.

Glycymeris flammeus Image © Bernard Yau

Background shell sculpture and colouration. Sand cockles are oval in shape with raised concentric ridges Cockles commercially harvested from NSW around the shell, which is light grey or brown estuaries are principally the sand cockles in colour. In contrast, the Sydney cockle is Katelysia scalarina and K. rhytiphora (family more oblique in shape and has strong ribs that ), and the Sydney cockle or mud ark, radiate out across the shell from the hinge; trapezia (family Arcidae). The main its underlying colour is plain cream or white, target species in the commercial fishery is although this is usually partially covered by K. scalarina which is generally marketed as a dark, horny periostracum. The shells of ‘vongoli’. the Sydney cockle are thick which results in Sand cockles can reach shell sizes of 4 cm the recovery of only a small amount of meat (K. scalarina) or 6 cm (K. rhytiphora), while the compared to the weight of the cockle. Sydney cockle can attain a maximum size of Sand cockles are distributed around southern about 7 cm. These two types of cockles are from the south coast of NSW to the easily distinguishable from each other by their southern shores of WA, and including Tasmania.

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They inhabit fine to medium grained sand and Historical Landings of Cockles mud habitats in protected estuarine tidal flats and are usually found less than 5 cm below the surface of the sand. The Sydney cockle 80 also inhabits mud, sand and seagrass beds

in sheltered estuaries. Its main distribution is 60 eastern Australia from southern to Port Philip Bay in ; there is also an 40 isolated population of Anadara at Albany, WA. Landings (t) In NSW, cockles are harvested throughout the 20 year with most landings in August to December. The method of harvest is by hand-gathering on 0 mud flats and sand banks during low tide. 88/89 93/94 98/99 03/04 08/09 In NSW waters there is currently a single Financial Year operator collecting cockles under permit. The Commercial landings (including available historical records) of cockles for NSW from 1986/87 to 2008/09 for species taken include Glycymeris flammeus, all fishing methods. Eucrassitella kingicola and Notocallista kingii.

Additional Notes Landings by Commercial Fishery of Cockles • A number of species are harvested Estuary General (Key Secondary Species) commercially within the Estuary General Fishery and the recreational harvest of some

species may be significant. 60

• Proper identification of the species and 50 consistency of common names needs to be implemented. 40

• There is a combined recreational bag limit of 30 Landings (t)

50 cockles, mussels and pipis. 20 10

Catch 0 Recreational Catch of Cockles 97/98 99/00 01/02 03/04 05/06 07/08 Financial Year The annual recreational harvest of cockles in Reported landings of cockles by NSW commercial NSW is unknown but there may be significant fisheries from 1997/98. Fisheries which contribute less fishing pressure on accessible populations. than 2.5% of the landings are excluded for clarity and privacy.

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Further Reading Bellchambers, L.M. and A.M.M. Richardson (1995). The Sullivan, G.E. (1961). Functional Morphology, Micro- effect of substrate disturbance and burial depth anatomy, and histology of the ‘Sydney Cockle’ on the venerid clam, Katelysia scalarina (Lamarck, Anadara trapezia (Deshayes) (Lamellibranchia: 1818). Journal of Shellfish Research 14 (1): 41-44. arcidae). Australian Journal of Zoology 9 (2): 219-257. Edgar, G.J. (2001). Australian Marine Life. Sydney, Wells, F.E. and D. Roberts (1980). Molluscan Australia, Reed New Holland. assemblages on an inter-tidal sandflat in Princess Royal Harbor, Western-Australia. Australian Journal Hadfield, A.J. and D.T. Anderson (1988). Reproductive of Marine and Freshwater Research 31 (4): 499-507. cycles of the bivalve mollusks Anadara trapezia (Deshayes), Venrupis crenata Lamarck and Anomia descripta Iredale in the Sydney Region. Australian Please visit the CSIRO website, Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 39 (5): http://www.marine.csiro.au/caab/ and search for 649-660. the species code (CAAB) 23 226001, 23 380003, Jolley, D.F., W.A. Maher and J. Kyd (2004). Selenium 23 380004, 23 231007, 23 380039, and 23 330004, accumulation in the cockle Anadara trapezia. common name or scientific name to find further Environmental Pollution 132 (2): 203-212. information. Kent, G.N., G.B. Maguire, M. John, M. Cropp and K. Frankish (1998). Broodstock conditioning, spawning induction, and larval rearing of the stepped venerid, Katelysia scalarina (Lamark 1818). Journal of Shellfish Research 17 (4): 1065-1070. Lamprell, K. and T. Whitehead (1992). Bivalves of Australia Volume 1. Bathurst, Australia, Crawford House Press. Macpherson, J.H., C.J. Gabriel and G.J. Browning (1962). Marine Molluscs of Victoria. Parkville, Victoria, Melbourne University Press. Peterson, C.H., E.A. Irlandi and R. Black (1994). The crash in suspension-feeding bivalve populations (Katelysia spp.) in Princess Royal Harbour: an unexpected consequence of eutrophication. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 176 (1): 39-52. Ponder, W., P. Hutchings and R. Chapman (2002). Overview of the conservation of Australian marine invertebrates a report for Environment Australia. Sydney, Australian Museum. Robinson, K. and P. Gibbs (1982). A field guide to the common shelled molluscs of estuaries. Sydney, Australia, Coast and Wetlands Society (NSW).

© State of New South Wales through Industry and Investment NSW 2010. You may copy, distribute and otherwise freely deal with this publication for any purpose, provided that you attribute Industry and Investment NSW as the owner.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing (April 2010). However, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information upon which they rely is up to date and to check currency of the information with the appropriate officer of Industry and Investment NSW or the user’s independent adviser.

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