And the regulations just keep coming....

Oyster harvesters and dealers will see a slew of new regulations this summer designed to lower the number of illnesses and deaths caused by Vibrio Vulnificus in raw oysters.

About 30 oyster harvesters and dealers turned out at a workshop on Monday to learn more about the proposed rules.

The proposals include additional cooling requirements for oysters harvested in the summer and a reduction in harvesting times in April and November.

The state will also establish a Special Activity License to control the harvest of oysters that will be shucked or that receive some form of post harvest treatment.

Seafood dealers will also face more paper work with additional record keeping requirements.

State regulators said the new rules will take effect in April even though the state will not be finished with the rule-making process by then.

Seafood dealers will be required to enforce the new regulations until the rule-making process is complete.

This is the second year in a row that tighter regulations have been created for the Gulf Coast oyster industry.

The Department of Agriculture, which oversees oyster harvesting in Florida, says the new rules are needed to meet a federal requirement of lowering the number of illnesses and deaths caused by Vibrio vulnificus by 60 percent.

If that reduction is not met then the industry could be looking at even harsher restrictions which could include banning oyster harvesting during portions of the summer.

Oyster harvesters are beginning to think a short harvesting ban might be better than the ever growing number of time and temperature regulations they are facing now.

A few people at Monday’s workshop said stopping harvesting for 6 weeks to 2 months at the end of the summer season might not even have as big of an impact on the industry as existing regulations do.

The industry does seem to be facing an insurmountable requirement of lowering the number of people impacted by Vibrio Vulnificus because the numbers are already so low.

Currently about 30 people a year get sick from Vibrio and about 15 die nationwide – almost all of them are people with pre-existing conditions that makes them susceptible from disease from any raw protein.  

Fewer than one death a year is traced to Vibrio Vulnificus from oysters harvested from the Apalachicola bay.

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