Tomales Bay, CA Closed For Shellfish Harvesting. Hog Island Oyster Bars Remain Open, Selling Shellfish Purchased From Unaffected Areas In WA State, and Beyond.
MARSHALL, Calif., Jan. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Tomales Bay, CA is temporarily closed to shellfish harvesting due to illness reports and seasonal rainfall closure. After receiving illness complaints from customers on January 2nd, Hog Island Oyster Co. began immediate illness report investigations and initiated a voluntary recall of oysters harvested in Tomales Bay on January 3. The reported illnesses occurred between December 28 and January 2nd. Prior to the bay closure, Hog Island Oyster Co. took critical action of tracing the potentially affected oysters to specific harvest lots and began contacting all restaurants they sell to, to voluntarily recall their product. Hog Island Oyster Co. primarily sells oysters to their namesake Hog Island oyster bars and direct to restaurants in the Bay areas.
On January 3, Tomales Bay closed for shellfish harvest due to illness reports. Tomales Bay currently remains temporarily closed for both illness and rainfall. Hog Island Oyster Co. and all other oyster companies on the bay have ceased harvest and sales of all oysters grown in Tomales Bay. Hog Island Oyster Co. is working closely with local, state and federal health departments to identify the problem and ensure the safety of all shellfish. Harvesting will resume when the CA Dept. of Public Health (CDPH) has run consecutive tests that determine the waters and oysters are safe for consumption.
Several clinical tests from local County Health Departments identified Norovirus as the cause of illness. CDPH has yet to confirm this and is currently running tests on oyster meat samples from Tomales Bay. "We are doing everything we can to look into the potential cause of these illnesses," says Terry Sawyer, Hog Island Oyster Co. co-founder. "This is an anomaly in our area. The last Norovirus event to hit Tomales Bay was in 1998, over 20 years ago. We are extremely stringent in ongoing testing of water quality and oyster samples in our bay. This is the last thing an oyster farmer ever wants to happen. We consider this a highly unfortunate, isolated incident and we will continue to investigate the problem."
Hog Island Oyster Farm and Oyster Bars are open for business during the bay closure, selling oysters and shellfish purchased from trusted shellfish growers outside of the affected area in Washington state and beyond.
"We are extremely empathetic for all who have experienced any illness. We are working to get as much information as possible to minimize all possible risk and make things right for our customers," says Terry Sawyer. "We thank everyone for their patience and understanding, and we look forward to reopening when we are sure our oysters are safe for consumption." Reopening dates will be determined by CDPH testing and weather.
SOURCE Hog Island Oyster Co.
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