A multi-agency operation took place in Saundersfoot last week, to take positive action regarding reports of illegal cockle picking on the beaches at the seaside village.

The operation was also in place to raise awareness of issues such as modern day slavery.

As well as members of the local neighbourhood policing team being present, other agencies included - Fisheries, Rural crime officers, Port health, Border force, Gang masters labour abuse authority.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s involvement was from a food safety standpoint.

A spokesperson for the local authority said: “Pembrokeshire County Council was represented by an officer from the Port Health Team in order to determine whether any offences under Food Safety legislation were being committed.

“The Glen Beach in Saundersfoot is not classified on health grounds for commercial harvesting of live bivalve molluscs and therefore the harvesting of such products for the food chain is not permitted.”

News of the operation received positive feedback on social media from members of the public, with one remarking: ‘Good to see this happening, there are loads down there, they take trolley loads at a time’ and another stating: ‘About time - not to mention the unknown damage done to the current and future ecosystem of our beaches and coast. I hope this kind of action and prevention continues’.

Earlier this year, the Welsh Government held a consultation on cockling, moving to ensure that it will be a criminal offence to commercially gather cockle from any public cockle bed in Wales without an ‘All Wales’ cockle permit (a person is considered to be commercially gathering if they remove more than 5 kg of cockle from a fishery in a single day).

In light of the potentially hazardous nature of intertidal areas where cockles are gathered, this ease of access to the public fisheries has led to concerns about the safety of inexperienced gatherers.

At times these concerns have been exacerbated by large numbers of gatherers accessing cockle beds at once.

Welsh Ministers intend to make new legislation to introduce these changes and create a new All Wales cockle permitting regime, enabling the Government to sustainably manage public cockle fisheries and safeguard the environment in Wales.

Permit holders will be entitled to gather cockle from any open bed in Wales. All beds will remain closed until they are actively opened by the Welsh Government in response to a favourable stock assessment survey and Habitats Regulation Assessment to ensure sustainability.

The Welsh Government will open and close fishery beds and apply daily or seasonal quotas for fishery management purposes.