congratulations leon for points well made. i read the comments regarding the use of the scallop dredges with some sadness.i was working as a commercial diver in the areas that they mentioned, namely the "exeters" some 15 years ago. the destruction of the seabed that i witnesses was nothing less than criminal. if it was "on land" they would have been arrested on the spot. we tried everything to reason with the fishermen to stop the destruction that we were seeing, but to no avail. we even offered to take them underwater so they could see with their own eyes, but they werent interested.the year after when their catches were down by a huge amount, the same fishermen were in the pub one night, blaming the E.U, rod fishermen, seals, even scuba divers! anything but accept that their own mindless ignorance and stupidity was the reason.from that moment on, these shellfishermen are for me the thickest people on the planet.good luck with your work leon.best wishes dave.