Norovirus poisoning: after a month of ban, Arcachon oysters authorized again

Les huîtres du bassin d'Arcachon sont de retour dans nos assiettes à partir du 19 janvier 2024 (photo d'illustration). VICTOR GUILLOTEAU – Midi Libre

While they had been banned from sale following massive infections around the holidays, the Gironde prefecture is once again authorizing the sale of Arcachon oysters from this Friday, January 19, 2024. news which delights the region's oyster farmers, deprived of their activity for almost a month. 

This Friday, January 19, 2024, oysters from the Arcachon basin, prohibited for sale since December 27, 2023, will be able to be marketed again after the Gironde prefecture does not allow them to be sold again. #39;did not find any "new contaminating event". 

After being deprived of sales during the New Year and the first two weekends of January, oyster farmers see this news as a relief, while losses are estimated at 5 million # 39;euros for the profession. 

"This is excellent news", reacts Olivier Laban, president of the regional shellfish farming committee Arcachon-Aquitaine (CRCAA), cited by our colleagues from France Info. 

Financial blow

Although oysters are a product that is consumed throughout the year, this episode remains a huge blow from a financial point of view for the oyster farming sector.  

Olivier Laban talks about "1,300 tonnes of oysters" no sold during the period from December 27, 2023 to January 18, 2024. These sales "would have generated a turnover of 7 million euros", he reports to France Info . 

This event is also likely to recur in the years that follow. Indeed, if such precipitation occurs again during this period, the risk of such a scenario cannot be excluded. 

Whose fault is it ? 

Following the prefectural decree of December 27, the Arcachon basin water defense association (Adeba) filed a complaint against Siba, responsible for local sanitation network. 

She pointed out the contamination of the marine environment by network overflows after heavy rains, blaming the manager, reports Libération.&amp ;nbsp;

Another association, the Environmental Coordination of the Arcachon Basin (Ceba), filed a complaint against X on January 12, considering that the water infection had already been known since November . Some people would have preferred not to alert the region's oyster farmers as Christmas approached, a period which represents two-thirds of the industry's annual figure.

Although oyster sales restart this Friday, January 19, 2024, the investigation continues into the origin of their contamination. < /p>