A consultation on proposals to extend scallop dredging in the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC) has been called off today (Wednesday) due to technical complications.

The controversial consultation asks the public whether there should be a controlled fishery in the area of the SAC currently closed to fishing.

The Welsh Government (WG) intends to establish a scallop fishery within the currently closed area within Cardigan Bay SAC. The government says that a new management system would ensure a sustainable supply of scallops into the future while safeguarding important marine species and habitats.

Three conservation groups Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Marine Conservation Society and ClientEarth launched a campaign yesterday (Tuesday) to withdraw the consultation.

They pointed out a technical error on the online form which falsified respondents’ answers; If you clicked ‘no’ to say that you did not support dredging in the SAC but then clicked yes to the following question the survey automatically changed the previous response to indicate that you supported dredging.

Conservation groups also said that the dredging, in line with the current proposals, could be illegal. Stating that it is incompatible with the aims of the protected sites and the interests of the species that the sites are designated for.

They said that the consultation document was unfairly weighted towards scallop dredging in the SAC. Saying it asked leading questions and made it hard to object to the whole concept of establishing a scallop fishery, particularly in marine protected areas.

“Scallop dredging in Cardigan Bay would be enormously damaging to fragile habitats and threatened species like the bottlenose dolphin,” Catherine Weller, a lawyer at ClientEarth. “Also it could also be illegal.

“Technical errors in how the online questionnaire works compound how rushed and ill-considered this process is. Responses received to date may not reflect the real views of the respondents. That is not acceptable.”

On Wednesday Natural resources minister, Carl Sargeant said he would re-start the consultation later this week “due to a technical issue”.

A spokesman for the Welsh Government said that responses already received would be discarded and those who’ve already responded will be contacted and asked to resubmit. The re-launched consultation will run for 12 weeks.