The Louisiana
Wildlife and Fisheries Commission ratified a declaration of
emergency allowing permitted vessels to transfer oysters on
board from harvest vessels for mechanical refrigeration within
five hours of the beginning of daily harvest at their June
5 meeting.
This rule will
become effective June 24, 2008 and will only be in effect
from May through October for oysters for raw consumption.
The mechanical refrigeration must deliver an air temperature
of 45 degrees or cooler.
Because of this
new rule, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
(LDWF) will be issuing Oyster Cargo Vessel Permits. The permits
provide for larger oyster vessels equipped with on board mechanical
refrigeration to accept containerized and tagged oyster harvests
from smaller boats that do not have the room to install a
refrigerator and cannot make it back to the dock within the
five-hour refrigeration window. These permitted oyster cargo
vessels will then transport the oyster harvests for these
smaller vessels to the dock.
The action was
necessary in order to provide oyster harvesters with a means
of complying with mandated U. S. Food and Drug Administration
refrigeration requirements for oysters harvested during the
summer months for raw consumption.
This rule will
be in compliance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements
and is in accordance with the Office of Public Health Molluscan
Shellfish Program.
