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.
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals will close oyster harvest areas 1-28, which are located from Lake Borne in St. Bernard Parish to Vermillion Bay in Vermillion Parish, effective at sunset on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012.
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a series of public meetings next week to provide critical information on current rules and changes that will affect the oyster harvesting, dealing and processing communities in Louisiana.
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced today the reopening of oyster harvesting Area 7. The decision came after two consecutive lab tests show that the water in Area 7 is safe.
Today Louisiana officials announced precautionary closures of two oyster harvesting areas that are receiving large amounts of freshwater intrusion from the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway and from the Mississippi River.