Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agents cited a Texas man for alleged oyster harvesting violations in St. Bernard Parish on Aug. 17.
Agents cited Manuel Martinez, 40, from St. Leon, Texas, for violating the sanitary codes for tagging oysters and refrigerating oysters.
Agents were on patrol when they observed a vessel being used to harvest oysters near Christmas Camp Lake. Agents boarded the vessel and observed it was equipped with a cooler that measured above the required 45 degrees.
Agents seized 166 sacks of oysters that were tagged, but had no lot number to correspond to the harvester log sheets per hour.
In the month of August, harvesters that choose “for raw consumption” have one hour to get them in refrigeration. The harvester must document on a cooler log sheet each hour and tag the sacks corresponding to that hour.
Sanitary code in reference to refrigeration or tagging deems oysters adulterated and subject to seizure and destruction at the violator’s expense. The oysters in violation were seized and brought to a closed oyster area and returned to the water.
Violating sanitary code for refrigeration brings a $400 to $950 fine and up to 90 days in jail. Violating sanitary code for tagging carries up to a $25 fine and 10 days in jail.