In a statement, AMN said that the operation in the Aveiro estuary, which took place on that morning, resulted in the seizure of around 200 kilos of cockles and that the offenders fled when they saw the Maritime Police.

“The capture of cockles is temporarily prohibited in that area of ​​the Aveiro estuary, due to the presence of biotoxins present in the results of analyses, and the captured cockles were therefore seized”, reads the statement

AMN also stated that the seized cockles were returned to sea, as they were still alive.

In the police action, several fishing tools were also seized, namely a sieve, nets and rakes, which were abandoned by the offenders, he added.

The local Command of the Maritime Police of Aveiro took care of the incident, he concluded.