DUNGUN, Jan 17- The Terengganu Department of Fisheries advises the public, who collect cockles on the coast of Pantai Sura there as a result of being washed up by the recent large waves, to make sure that the cockles are cooked thoroughly before being eaten.

Its director Ruzaidi Mamat said water and cockle samples had been taken for analysis. Preliminary research shows that there is no presence of plankton that can produce biotoxins in the seawater sample taken from the beach.

He added that the results of the bacterial analysis will be known in the near future.

However, based on the records, the level of E.coli bacteria in the cockle sample was found to exceed the set standards. Therefore, the clams are classified as class B which requires perfect cooking before eating.

Earlier, Dungun District Police Chief Superintendent of Police (SP) Maizura Abdul Kadir said the public was prohibited from approaching the beach to collect cockles, in order to ensure their safety due to the phenomenon of large waves and strong winds that are still happening until now.

The ban on any activities including collecting the cockles also applies on all coastal areas in the district.

Legal action will be taken if there is any party who refuses to comply with the ban.