FISHERMEN in Morecambe are calling for cockle beds in the Bay to be closed.

They want to see beds shut down between April and September so that stocks do not dwindle.

And they say beds at Middleton Sands should also be closed because the cockles there are too young to be harvested.

The demands follow a meeting between Morecambe and Lunesdale MP Geraldine Smith, local fishermen and the Government's Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Ms Smith says it was decided to urge Government Minister Ben Bradshaw to do more to regulate fishing in the bay.

"I have put forward a proposal to Ben Bradshaw to make amendments to existing laws to regulate fishing activity.

"I want priority to be given to people who depend on fishing for their living. I have also asked him to look into a certificate of competence, which people must take before being granted a permit to cockle in the bay," she says.

Ms Smith says that Jim Andrews, of the North Western and North Sea Fisheries Committee, said at the meeting held at the Elms Hotel, Morecambe, last week that he would be sending a scientist to see if closing the beds at Middleton Sands would be necessary.