ANOTHER tragedy on Morecambe Bay will only be prevented with the introduction of a licensing scheme, say local fishermen. But this week Government ruled the system out.

Since last February when 23 Chinese cockle pickers lost their lives on the sands, fishermen have lobbied for a licensing scheme to regulate activity on the cockle beds.

But this week Jane Kennedy, the Government's Minister for Work, said such a scheme would be too costly.

She told the Citizen that the North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee's permit scheme was a useful tool in controlling access' and disseminating health and safety advice to all cocklers.

It will be extended to cover the whole of the district.

But she says: "The costs of establishing a regulating order and policing it would make the cost of individual licences prohibitively expensive. This would increase the risk of illegal fishing and the health and safety issues inherent in that."

She goes on: "The Government has concluded that licensing should be rejected as a solution as it would provide few advantages and come at a high cost disproportionate to the level of risk. There are no plans to introduce a licensing scheme."

When asked what would prevent another tragedy happening in the Bay, Ms Kennedy says work by the Health and Safety Executive and the local sea fisheries committee has made it possible to work on the Bay regularly without serious risk'.

But Geraldine Smith, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, says the decision is appalling'.

Ms Smith - who has fought for a national licensing system - says: "I do not accept that. If we don't get a licensing scheme there is a strong probability that there will be another tragedy it's just a matter of time.

"A permit scheme was in place on the beds where the Chinese cocklers were working last February and extending it does not solve the problem. The local fishing community and I believe a licensing scheme will go a distance to making sure a tragedy never happens again."

Ms Smith says she is trying to get a meeting with Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw, who told the Citizen last year that local people had a right to be angry. But he is too busy' until after Easter.

"This is all about life and death and if something is not done soon I hate to think what could happen. It is so frustrating," she adds.

"The HSE seem to feel the bay is a safe place to work as long as you follow all necessary procedures, but that just doesn't happen. It is a very, very dangerous place to be."

Ms Smith teamed up with MP for South Lakeland Tim Collins to force the Government to act over unregulated cockle fishing in the Bay.

Mr Collins says: "What's needed is firm action to introduce a national licensing scheme which will prevent the sort of Wild West scenes we have seen over the past few months and protect the livelihoods of local cocklers whose families have fished for generations."