THE Government has dashed any hopes of introducing a regulated licensing system that Morecambe Bay fishermen claim is desperately needed to prevent another tragedy like the one that claimed the lives of 23 Chinese cockle pickers last February.

For 12 months, fishermen across the Bay have been pressing the Government to grant a regulating order that would give local authorities the power to issue a limited number of licences to Morecambe Bay cocklers. The permits would be issued on a points system to fishermen with the most experience and local knowledge.

But Jane Kennedy, Government minister for work, put a black line through such a scheme because it would be too costly.

She said the costs of establishing a regulating order and policing it would probably make the cost of individual licences prohibitively expensive, increasing the risk of illegal fishing and the health and safety issues inherent in that.

"The Government has concluded that licensing should be rejected as a solution as it would provide few advantages and come at a high cost which would be disproportionate to the level of risk," she said, adding: "The Government has no plans to introduce a licensing scheme."

Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Collins is still pressing the Govern-ment to take regulatory action to tackle the problem.

"A licence to pick cockles on Morecambe Bay is currently as easy to get as a library ticket," said Mr Collins. "No limit is put on the number issued and there are no checks to make sure that those applying have any cockling experience.

"What is needed is a regulating order from the Government which would give local authorities real powers to limit the number of people going out on to the Bay. There also needs to be stiff penalties for those who persist in the Bay via quiet residential areas, as has happened again this week in Kents Bank."

Mr Collins's office has received several calls from residents in Grange-over-Sands who said that following the temporary closure of the Kents Bank crossing on to Morecambe Bay, cocklers were now "piling" on to the sands by the even more congested Cart Lane.