Burry Inlet cockles are world renowned

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says the shellfish must not be picked until they find the cause of the pollution.

But the collectors insist the cockles are safe to eat and the industry is in danger of collapse because of the prohibition.

They staged a 'picnic' on the mud flats at Penclawdd on Thursday and the only food on the menu were cockles.

The ban on collecting was imposed last July by Swansea and Carmarthenshire councils after the FSA found Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) during routine sampling.

But the cocklers want the agency to change its method of testing on mice to using chemicals instead.

The cocklers say the ban on collecting in the Burry inlet is destroying their industry and fear it will lead to overpopulated beds.

It is devastating to be put out of work through no fault of our own

Glyn Hyndman, cockle-picker

If the young cockles do not have enough space to grow their shells will burst. Mussels, which feed off the shells, will then take over.

Glyn Hyndman's family have been farming the inlet for five generations.

He said: "Financially, the ban has been terrible. It is devastating to be put out of work through no fault of our own.

"If something isn't done soon then we will have to move on to other things."

Joy Whinney Director of the FSA in Wales said that they are monitoring the situation.

"We are supporting temporary prohibition orders which are enforced by the local authorities to protect public health.

"The weekly tests which we carry out show the levels of the toxin present in the Burry Inlet cockles is higher than what would be expected.

"An agency research programme is currently under way to identify the toxin responsible.

"We would like the situation to be resolved as soon as possible.

Rory Parsons, of Parsons Pickles, said: "We support public health issues but nobody has been made ill and we have received no complaints."

Tradition

FSA and Environmental Health officers were at the protest on Thursday to ensure the ban was not broken.

Stuart Davies of Swansea council said: "We have to ensure there is no breach in the rules.

"It is impossible to establish where exactly the cockles eaten here have come from because we have not seen anyone gathering."

The fisheries of the Burry Inlet provide a quarter of all British cockles.

They are hand picked by a technique in use since Roman times.