Meet the fishers

Meet the Burry Inlet cockle fishers 

The Burry Inlet cockle fishery was certified as sustainable in April 2001 when it became the fifth fishery in the world to be awarded the MSC blue ecolabel. The traditional cockle fishery is located in Carmarthen Bay on the southern coast of Wales.

Cockles are molluscs found on the seashore in sheltered sandy or mud areas. They have a sweet and succulent taste combined with the firm, meaty texture of lobster. The Burry Inlet yields around 3,500 tons of cockles per year.

Phil Coates, Director of the South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee (SWSFC), said: "I am thrilled to accept this award on behalf of the SWSFC, the local fishing industry and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) USA’ who have sponsored our costs. Much of the Committee’s work is in the vanguard of fisheries - environmental management, of which the Burry Inlet Cockle fishery is just one example.”

He further added: “Certification to the MSC Standard is an independent external audit of our management performance as a stamp of future quality assurance, and one which we are only too pleased to endorse. Consumers can now be assured that the Burry Inlet cockle, always noted as being 'the most meaty, wholesome and flavoured' around, now comes from one of the best managed fisheries whose long-term future is secured by SWSFC."