Since May 2014, shellfish production was banned on Cornwall’s river Fal and the Helford after mussels and oysters were discovered heavily contaminated with human sewage and agricultural farmyard effluent, reports Bryan Gibson.

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) downgraded samples taken from Grade B to C, meaning it is unlawful to harvest shellfish due to the remaining risk to human health, despite having undergone an ultraviolet light cleaning process.

Two excessively wet winters, the Environment Agency’s short sighted reluctance to take a firm-handed approach to coastal and inland farm pollution, plus the massive increase in Cornwall's population during the summer holiday season all combined to create an excessive amount of untreated animal and human sewage waste flowing into Cornwall’s picturesque waterways.

As most of Cornwall’s holiday makers have returned home - and most importantly, Cornwall remained free from rain during September - river pollution has finally reduced to more ‘normal' levels. So according to the UK Environment Agency, shellfish can re-appear on the menu.

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