Loire-Atlantique Prefecture Prohibits Oyster and Shellfish Fishing and Sales After Collective Food Poisoning Outbreak

By decree, the Loire-Atlantique prefecture prohibits fishing, collecting or selling oysters and shellfish from the Bay of Bourgneuf. This ban follows a collective food poisoning which affected around forty people. A disaster for producers.

“This has never happened to me, laments Dominiqueyou realize, with a blow like that, we destroy a career!”

For this oyster farmer from Bernerie-en-Retz, the decree taken this Friday evening by the Loire-Atlantique prefecture is a stab in the face. His dismay is quite understandable: the upcoming holiday season is the time of year when he achieves half of his turnover by selling 40 to 50 tonnes of oysters.

“The orders are placed, the staff hired… now we just have to put the oysters back in the water and buy products from other areas, otherwise we just have to close the door!” explains the producer while specifying, “this never happened, we have no perspective…”

However, until this Friday evening, he sold oysters, even gave them away, notably for the Telethon, “It went very well, I had no feedback, no problems, this story is weird.”

For the oyster farmer, it is possible that only one batch was contaminated.

Apparently, there were no other patients. There was only one meal that caused poisoning… but anyway, we don’t condemn the entire production for one meal!

Dominique

oyster producer

he protests.

Rumors are circulating, unverifiable, that elected officials were intoxicated during this meal. This would explain the speed with which the Loire-Atlantique prefecture issued this decree prohibiting “fishing, gathering, transport, storage and marketing of shellfish, for professional purposes or for leisure, coming from part of the southern coast of the department” (extract from the press release from the Loire-Atlantique prefecture).

The area concerned by the prefectural decree • © Prefecture de Loire-Atlantique

The geographical area affected by this ban is located north of Bourgneuf Bay. (shellfish production zone n°44.15). From Pointe Saint Gildas (Préfailles)
at the Port du Collet. It also includes the production of Noirmoutier.

“The professionals concerned have been asked to remove shellfish placed on the market from December 6, 2023” indicates the press release from the prefecture.

It is advisable not to consume and destroy shellfish from the prohibited area, as well as not to ingest shellfish. “whose origin geographic location is not known or uncertain.