Harvesting of shellfish
Some species of shellfish (live bivalve molluscs), such as oysters, mussels, cockles etc., are filter feeders and accumulate sewage contamination and toxins from the water around them therefore their consumption may cause illness.
To control the risk of illness, live bivalve molluscs being placed on the market for human consumption must originate from a classified production area.
Areas are classified per species according to the degree of contamination, based on monitoring of faecal contamination in the shellfish. Only shellfish from Class A waters can be placed on the market directly.
An annual list of classified areas is published by Food Standards Scotland covering the period 1st April to 31st March the following year and is divided by local authority area and provides all the current shellfish harvesting production area details.
South Ayrshire Council regularly sample our classified production area, to ensure levels of bacteria and algal toxins are safe. View a table of the latest algal toxins results. Temporary closure notices, prohibiting the harvesting of shellfish, are served where results reveal a risk to public health.
Areas currently classified within South Ayrshire are:
| Production Area | Species | Site Name | Boundaries | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Bay | Razors | Barassie (SA-337-719-16) | Area bounded by lines drawn between NS 2800 3450, NS 3200 3450, NS 3200 3200, NS 3165 3120, NS 3079 3188 and NS 2800 3100 extending to MHWS | OPEN CLASSIFICATION 2022 A: April - December 2023 A: January - March |
| Ayr Bay | Razors | Ayr Bay Razors(SA-841-2263-16) | Area bounded by lines drawn between NS33202286, NS30752416, NS27342198 and NS29161882 extending to MHWS. | PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION 2022 A: April - December 2023 A: January - March |
| Troon South Beach | Razors | Troon South Beach Razors(SA-843-2267-16) | Area bounded by lines drawn between NS31733068, NS30823019, NS31342791 and NS32892905 extending to MHWS. | UNFAVOURABLE CLASSIFICATION 2022 A: April - June & August - December 2023 A: January - March |
| Prestwick Shore | Razors | Prestwick Shore Razors(SA-840-2262-16) | Area bounded by lines drawn between points NS32892905, NS31442773, NS30752416 and NS33202286extending to MHWS. | PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION 2022 A: April - December 2023 A: January - March |
| Heads of Ayr | Razors | Heads of Ayr Razors (SA-866-2362-16) | Area bounded by lines drawn between points NS2447 2244, NS2359 1410, NS 2916 2291, NS 2734 2273 Extending to MLWS | NEW PRODUCTION AREA PROVSIONAL CLASSIFICATION 2022 A: April - December 2023 A: January - March |
| Croy Bay | Razors | Culzean Bay (SA-681-1482-16) | Area bounded by lines drawn between points NS22517 14600, NS 24470 13860, NS 20100 04860, NS 15159 05397, NS 15468 07322 extending to MHWS | PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION 2023 A: April - December 2024 A: January - March |
Shellfish Traceability
To ensure traceability of the product, a registration document requires to accompany each batch of live shellfish during transportation from the production area to the dispatch or purification centre.
Please contact us for registration documents if you wish to gather shellfish from a classified production area within South Ayrshire.
All shellfish leaving an approved dispatch or purification centre must be labelled with an identification mark, which includes their unique approval number, before being placed on the market for human consumption.