A BBC report shows Chinese people scavenging for oysters in Southend. Oysters can be picked up for personal use, but not for commercial gain, and though locals complain that the Chinese collect up to a thousand oysters a day working six-hour stretches, the Environmental Protection Agency has yet to find hard evidence against them.
The harvest is a reminder of the 23 cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay who were drowned in 2004 because they were unaware of the dangers of the racing tide. The Thames at Southend might not be quite so precarious, but 37 million tons of raw sewage enters the river each year, and unless the oysters are properly cleaned, they could cause health problems.
So check the provenance of your oysters next time you have one.
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