HUMAN THREATS

Being such an adundant and resiliant species, there aren't any major concerns for the stock of M. rufescens at this point in time. They are harvested commercially for bait for fishing, taken by recreational fishermen for bait and to a lesser extent, harvested to be eaten. There has recently been debate about the sustainability of the commercial harvesting on the beach of northern New South Wales which resulted in a closure for a number of months while sustainability assessments were carried out. Although there would need to be a significant increase in the number of surf clams havested to cause concern, monitoring the take would be useful in ensuring that this important part of the food web survives in resilient populations. Some studies have shown that human harvesting can have impacts on populations, so monitoring and managing them well is important (Defeo & Alava, 1995).