Mud from Spanish fires threatens shellfish beds
Source: Reuters
MADRID, Oct 25 (Reuters) - This summer's forest fires in northwest Spain have caused further damage after torrential rain turned ash into rivers of mud that have engulfed the region's renowned clam and cockle beds. Shellfish collectors in some areas of the Galicia region fear they may have lost most of their annual harvest after the creatures were swamped by mud or suffocated by freshwater floods, according to Spanish media. The newspaper El Pais reported that at one beach alone, Seca near the northern city of Pontevedra, ash slurry had wiped out 20,000 kg (44,090 lb) of fine clams -- a sought-after species worth 90 euros per kg. In August the region was hit by Spain's worst fires in a decade, wiping out an area bigger than the whole of New York City. A month later, a factory fire released highly toxic chemicals into a river.
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