Managing Sand & mud flats

Sand and mud flats are not managed in the same way as other coastal habitats, for example they are not grazed by domestic stock! However, there are several actions that take place such as samphire gathering, trawling for cockles and cultivation of other shellfish including mussels. These activities disturb the surface and may have an impact on use by feeding waterfowl, which is additional to that caused by habitat loss.

Management is mostly concerned with re-establishing the mudflat surface. For example 'kidding' is used to encourage accretion of both saltmarsh and mud flats has taken place in many areas where loss of the foreshore through erosion is a problem.