The horizon is getting a little darker for the fifty or so oyster farmers in Loire-Atlantique located in Bernerie and Moutiers. Already subject to a ban on the sale of shellfish for several days, the measure which concerns the north of Bourgneuf Bay was tightened on Wednesday. “The prefect of Loire-Atlantique advances to December 4 [au lieu du 6] the period of obligation to withdraw and recall shellfish caught in the shellfish production zone,” indicates the new decree. The cause: “a new collective norovirus poisoning”, the gastroenteritis virus. According to The Courrier du Pays de Retzthree people were sick this time, including a child who had to be hospitalized.
Already two outbreaks reported
As a reminder, the prefecture has banned until the beginning of January the fishing, collection, transport, storage and marketing of shellfish, and in particular oysters, which are in high demand during this end-of-year holiday period. Already two outbreaks of poisoning, the first involving around forty firefighters who were celebrating St. Barbara’s Day, have already been reported to the authorities since the beginning of December.
Contacted by 20 minutesthe regional shellfish farming committee explained that it was not able to answer questions, due to “continuous crisis meetings”.