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SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY, 941 
APPENDIX. 
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THe ECONOMY OF THE COCKLE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE 
TO THE LANCASHIRE SEA-FISHERIES DISTRICT. 
THE cockle derives its economic importance from the fact 
that it is a suitable article of food, and that it is sufficiently 
abundant, at the same time, on large portions of the coast 
to give employment to a large number of people in gather- 
ing it for the markets. To a less extent, it is economically 
valuable in that it provides an abundant supply of food to 
some of the more important flat fishes. 
THE LANCASHIRE COCKLE FISHERIES. 
A glance at the map of the Lancashire Sea-Fisheries 
District, reproduced in this Report, and which has been 
reduced from Mr. R. A. Dawson’s sketch chart of the dis- 
trict, will show the great area covered by the cockle beds. 
Owing to the nature of the coast, where almost every- 
where there are great stretches of clean sandy shore swept 
twice a day by the tides, there are very few places where 
the cockle may not be found. It is not, however, the 
mere occurrence of the animal that is considered in the 
chart, but its occurrence in sufficient quantities to render 
an area a sufficiently profitable fishing ground. The red 
coloured areas on the chart indicate approximately the 
position and extent of such profitable fishing grounds, and 
it is evident that these are numerous enough and of suf- 
ficient extent to render Cardiwm an animal of some 
importance to Lancashire fishermen, and to justify the 
regulation, to some extent, of the fishery. 
