Molluscan Shellfish News

Pursuant to the provisions ofLSA RS 40:5.3, as amended and re-enacted by Act 1 of the First Regular Legislative Session of 1988, and RS 40:5, the Precautionary Closure of Molluscan shellfish waters in Louisiana effective dated December 11, 2015 is hereby rescinded.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals has closed Oyster Beds 01 through 07 as a precautionary measure due to the presence of karenia brevis, also known as Red Tide, in the Gulf of Mexico.

All salt and brackish water may contain Vibrio vulnificus (V.v.). If you have a condition that puts you at risk for V.v., talk to your doctor about how to stay healthy.

The Department of Health and Hospitals’ Office of Public Health (DHH/OPH) will reopen the closed portions of oyster Harvest Area 12 at one half hour prior to sunrise Monday, August 4, 2014. This oyster bed is located in Jefferson and Plaquemines parish waters. The reopening includes all waters centered near Bay Jimmy, Bay Batiste and Wilkinson Bay, except within 100 yards of any shoreline and reverts back to its current May-August seasonal classification status. DHH ordered a precautionary closure on October 25, 2010 due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The Louisiana Departments of Health and Hospitals, and Wildlife and Fisheries announced two new rules regarding the commercial harvest of oysters intended for raw consumption. These new rules are in effect daily and will help ensure the safety of oysters intended for raw consumption and simplify harvesting practices to support Louisiana’s fisheries. The new rules require two major changes to the way oysters are currently harvested:

Beginning next month, Louisiana oyster harvesters will have a two-week opportunity to move oysters from the public oyster seed grounds located southwest of Point Au Fer and the South Point area and transplant them to their private leases for later harvest. This is located in Oyster Harvest Areas 24 and 25.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals will close oyster harvest areas 1-23, which are located from Lake Borne in St. Bernard Parish to Oyster Bayou in Terrebonne Parish, effective at sunset on Friday, October 4, 2013.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals will close oyster harvest areas 1-23, which are located from Lake Borne in St. Bernard Parish to Oyster Bayou in Terrebonne Parish, effective at sunset on Friday, October 4, 2013.

The Louisiana Departments of Health and Hospitals and Wildlife and Fisheries announced today the precautionary closure of oyster harvest Area 11 in response to an oil spill. Area 11 is west of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish.

All of Louisiana's active oyster harvest areas will be operational tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 21 when the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals reopens the three remaining oyster beds, which were closed as a precautionary measure in advance of Hurricane Issac's landfall.