Louisiana
Oysters Are Back With A Clean Bill Of Health
Posted:
10/26/05
Louisiana
oystermen are back in business, and at first glimpse the oysters
are fat and salty! On Saturday, Oct. 22, 2005, the Louisiana
Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) opened the private
oyster grounds east of the Mississippi River. That includes:
- Area
1, which is better known as Lake Borgne
- Area
5, which includes Lake Machias, Lake Calebasse and Lake
Fortuna
- Area
6, which includes Lake Campo
- Area
7, which includes Bay Crabe, American Bay and Bay Gardene.
Private
farms west of Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish are also
open for harvest, as well as all of the beds in Terrebonne
Parish. These beds are designated as Areas 14 through 23 and
include Cat Bay, Bay Courant, Bay Boudreaux, Hackberry Lake
and Turtle Bayou as well as many other farm sites.
The only
public oyster bed that is open as of Oct. 25, 2005 in Louisiana
is Sister Lake in south Terrebonne Parish.
As DHH
state labs were knocked out by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,
Louisiana technicians worked with U.S. Food and Drug Administration
staff at their labs in Thibodaux, La. and Dauphin Island,
Ala. They completed careful testing on floodwaters and oyster
meats.
DHH's
Bruce Champion, who oversees Louisiana's oyster monitoring
program, said, "After many weeks of extensive chemical
and microbiological testing of oysters, the science shows
that the oysters in Areas 1, 5, 6 and 7, plus Areas 14 through
23 are ready for harvest." He went on to say, "We're
continuing to check other oyster growing areas across the
state and believe that we'll see more areas opening in the
near future."
Louisiana
produces over 250 million pounds of in-shell oysters annually.
As a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the damages
that were sustained about 100 million pounds of in-shell oysters
should be produced in Louisiana this coming year.
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