A Breton fisherman shovels up dead shellfish on the sand during low tide in the Brittany town of Le Croisic September 6. Millions of shellfish, mostly cockles, died following a period of hot weather and storms in Western France, virtually wiping out stocks. The tonnes of rotting molluscs that litter the sand banks have to be removed, representing an ecological and finacial disaster for the local industry.

FRANCE SHELLFISH