The oyster platter is immediately less enticing. In the bay of Morlaix (Finistère) as in several areas of Brittany, the shellfish are sick. The reason ? Continuous deterioration of water quality in recent years. Whose fault is it ? At sewage treatment plants, very often. Poorly maintained or undersized, these sanitation devices described as “failing” discharge too much organic matter into the waters of the English Channel or the Atlantic Ocean, degrading water quality. A finding that alarms the regional committee for shellfish farming in Northern Brittany, which denounces “multiple alterations in the quality of its waters”, due to contamination of human origin.
Oyster and mussel producers are suffering in particular from the proliferation of temporary closures of production areas due to the presence of norovirus, the virus responsible for gastroenteritis. “The sources of contamination here are exclusively of human origin, in connection with failures and/or deficiencies of collective or even individual sanitation systems”, indicates the committee in a press release.
Work schedule needs to be accelerated
The fishermen denounce in particular a “particularly critical” situation in the bay of Morlaix where microbiological and chemical contamination and manifestations of eutrophication have been increasing since the beginning of 2022. Aware that the resolution of the problem will take several years, the committee asks “ to speed up the schedule of planned clean-up works.
In some Breton territories, new building permits had been suspended for a time by the prefecture, while communities brought their treatment plants up to standard. The quality of coastal waters but also inland rivers suffers terribly, regularly causing pollution that torpedoes the natural environment.