By Michael Lloyd BBC News Online Scotland

They claim they have devised a "sustainable" fishery, which will stop "gangmasters" and ensure no repeat of the tragedy at Morecambe Bay where 20 Chinese cockle-pickers died.

The Solway Firth should be rich-pickings for cocklers

The Solway Shellfish Management Association is now asking the Scottish Executive to grant a regulating order to establish a managed fishery on the firth.

The scheme is backed by both conservationists eager to protect bird life and local fishermen who see rich pickings under the sands.

Chris Miles, of Scottish Natural Heritage, said it has reached a consensus with the fishermen about how to prevent stocks dwindling through over-fishing.

He said: "As long as we can keep up our monitoring efforts, we will get a good handle on what is taken off the sands."

Clifford Henderson, of the Annan Fisherman's Association, said that unlike the unregulated fishing which caused Solway stocks to dwindle and the cockle beds to be closed, they are proposing a tightly controlled system.

He said: "We want to give licenses to individual hand rakers, not to the beach masters.

Fisheries officer

"All cockles will have to be landed at one location, in a Solway shellfish bag, which must be purchased before fishing begins."

Where once many boats, tractors and hand rakers scoured the firth, fishermen would be limited to two tractors, six boats and no more than 100 hand raking licenses.

The hand rakers don't really understand what they are doing. You need to create some sort of safety certificate for them. Clifford Henderson Annan Fisherman's Association

And Mr Henderson, who has worked on the Morecambe Bay cockle sands and knows the dangers, said he was keen to ensure there were proper safety measures in place.

He added: "Some form of training would have to be given to the people taking the cocklers out. The hand rakers don't really understand what they are doing. You need to create some sort of safety certificate for them."

Mr Henderson also wants to see safety equipment to be carried by boats, tractors and rakers.

Dumfries and Galloway Council is backing the cockling plan and is so confident that the Scottish Executive will be persuaded to reopen the fishery that it is seeking to appoint a fisheries officer.

The council's planning and environment chair, Councillor Joan Mitchell, said she was certain of the executive's sympathy with the proposal.