COCKLES ARE STILL WARMING WELSH HEARTS
Things may have changed but...
Ashley, grandson of Selwyn, who is still regularly out working on the sands of north Gower, said: “Before 1965 it was a bit of a free-for-all and it needed to be regulated.
“You would have many tons taken each year from the Burry inlet. Today it is about one thousand, between approximately 36 licence holders.
“It is important not to take too many cockles from the beds, and also you can’t let the beds become overcrowded or they die.
“We work closely with our fishermen. People sometimes say it is impossible to get along in business but I like to think we do.
“We don’t have a hierarchy. We listen to their problems, and help them out if we can, and I think we are unique in the way we work.”
These days, Ashley isn’t the only man getting his hands dirty in the mud. But grandfather Selwyn was one of the very first; before then, it was largely women’s work.
At the time, Penclawdd cockles were rarely sold much further than Swansea market. But Selwyn had an idea, and bought a van and began to travel through the South Wales valleys to sell the delicacies.
He should have been congratulated, but the very first time he returned home from those outings, with a pocket full of cash for his troubles, his uncle beat him because he assumed he’d been stealing.
Selwyn met his wife Linda, a local farmer’s daughter, and together they built Selwyn’s Seafoods. Their first processing factory was on the very spot the business’s factory stands today.
Building on Selwyn’s success, Ashley’s parents Brian and Alyson continued to progress the business.
Not only did they continue to sell cockles across Wales, they ventured further into the UK market.
Ashley planned when he left school at 16 to inherit grandfather Selwyn’s licence to collect cockles from the Burry Inlet.
However, just before Selwyn’s death, the law on how licences were issued was changed and a list system was implemented.
It meant Ashley was left with no option but to work in the factory, which had not been his ambition. But, clearly having inherited Selwyn’s entrepreneurial skill, he would search for new markets in Europe.
After years of working with several “middle men”, in 2002 he met a Catalan company, based in Barcelona, Dani Conservas.
Dani invested heavily in the UK, not only in Penclawdd, buying the processing plant from Ashley’s parents, but also a processing and canning plant in Boston, Lincolnshire. Ashley has led the UK operation for Dani every since.
Welsh cockles are extremely sweet and due to the method of gathering by rake and riddle, are sand free. In Catalonia, cockles are eaten as a snack, often enjoyed over a beer. The canned cockles are often shared with a selection of tapas.
During lockdown, when the wholesale market was struggling, Selwyn’s threw themselves into their latest venture Selwyn’s Seafood Shack.
The shack stands alongside their processing factory and is primarily a visitor centre where people can learn about the history of the cockle and laverbread industry of Penclawdd, as well as promoting and selling the best Welsh seafood.
Together with local pub the Rake and Riddle, they testify to the importance of the trade in the area.
Covid-19 has affected everyone, but the industry has overcome challenges before.
In 1999-2000, the estuary was shut for 14 months because of shellfish poisoning. And in 2005, cockles in the inlet suddenly died over a matter of days. The cause remains a mystery.
Covid-19 hasn’t made a huge impact on harvesting, with work being undertaken outside in wide open spaces, but in the market it is a different story.
Carols Watts said: “Before lockdown, we used to have a footfall of between 8,000 and 10,000 people coming through the market, and that’s fallen now to between 1,500 and 2,000, because we can only have around 250 people in there at a time.
“But we have still been trading, by going out and making deliveries. We’ve had people ordering online or over the phone. And in the summer we have holiday makers around, which has helped.
“But it is a challenge for us all. We need the shops in Swansea city centre to survive, in the same way the shops need the market.”
There are other challenges.
Ashley said: “We are governed by nature of course, and we have Brexit ahead, which means it looks like we will have tariffs on our exports.
“But we are in a good place at the moment, and I am confident we will continue”.