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State Closes Louisiana Oyster Beds in Advance of Isaac (Health Dept., August 28 2012)

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  • State Closes Louisiana Oyster Beds in Advance of Isaac (Health Dept., August 28 2012)

    [Source: Louisiana Department of Health, full PDF document: (LINK). Edited.]

    JOINT INFORMATION CENTER / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    August 27, 2012

    State Closes Louisiana Oyster Beds in Advance of Isaac



    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.

    This is a precautionary closure because Tropical Storm Isaac, which is expected to strengthen to hurricane status before landfall, could cause flooding in coastal parishes that would cause natural contaminants to be washed into rivers, bayous and streams, where they can then flow into the oyster-growing areas.

    These shellfish-growing areas will remain closed until such time as state health officials determine the waters are clear and within approved area criteria established by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program.

    DHH Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public Health J.T. Lane and Dr. Jimmy Guidry, State Health Officer, today signed the order to close these oyster-growing waters in advance of Tropical Storm Isaac's anticipated landfall.


    Water standards for oyster harvesting are set by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference. DHH has the authority to close these waters under LSA-R.S. 40:5, 3.



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