Another major oyster theft reported in Dennis; officials issue warning
EAST DENNIS, MA – A series of oyster thefts from
offshore aquaculture grants has led officials to warn food
establishments, particularly raw bars, about serving unregulated
shellfish.
About $40,000 in oysters and
equipment has been stolen from the 1-acre shellfish farms on the tidal
flats off Crowes Pasture since early last month – the latest early
Tuesday. On top of the financial hit for shellfish farmers, the thefts
raise questions about loss of control over a food that's tightly
regulated for safety. For example, shellfish farmers must tag each bag
of oysters with the time and date of harvest.
“Harvesters
and wholesalers have requirements for oyster handling,” said Dennis
Health Director Terence Hayes, who was drafting an advisory Tuesday to
food establishments. “Both the harvesters and wholesalers have to sell
the oysters with tags on them. When we do food inspections at
restaurants, we check for those tags.”
The
state Department of Public Health has instituted stiff regulations for
handling oysters to prevent the foodborne illness caused by a bacterium
called Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Hayes said. When
ingested, vibrio causes diarrhea often with abdominal cramping, nausea,
vomiting, fever and chills. Usually these symptoms occur within 24
hours of ingestion and last three days, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
The
Massachusetts regulations, called the Vibrio Control Management Plan,
are enforced through close monitoring by local shellfish constables.
Oyster
harvesters are required to put the oysters on ice as soon as they are
harvested. Receiving dealers must make sure the oysters are cooled to 50
degrees Fahrenheit in a refrigeration unit no later than 10 hours after
they are harvested.
William Zammer, who owns
four restaurants on the Cape, said any reputable restaurant owner
checks for tags when purchasing shellfish. “You'd be a fool to use oysters that aren't tagged with dates,” Zammer said. “They'll have to take those oysters out of state,” he said referring to the thieves. But
Aaron Brochu, who owns the Big Rock Oyster Co. and lost about 10,000
oysters from his Crowes Pasture grants Tuesday, argued that it wouldn't
be difficult to fool a buyer. The tags are easy to get, he said. “You can buy them at the stores or even online,” he said. “They could just take the oysters down to New Bedford.” He is frustrated that the culprits remain at large. “They have to be doing it at low tide and in the dark,” Brochu said. “I'm surprised they're so hard to catch.”
The
first of the raids took place the week after Memorial Day when five
shellfish farmers lost a total of about 10,000 mature oysters. Last
week, James Ward, whose grant is next to Brochu's, lost 40 plastic
cages and 12,000 mature oysters. He calculated his loss at about
$10,000. Brochu, who oversees two 1-acre grants, has 12 employees who depend on his operation. “I'm their full-time job,” he said.
Christopher
Southwood, the Dennis shellfish constable, said several state agencies
have been notified of the thefts. The Harbormaster's Office plans to
patrol the Crowes Pasture area more heavily, he said.
When
contacted by the Times, the state Department of Public Health's
deferred comment to the state Division of Marine Fisheries and the
Massachusetts Environmental Police. The fisheries division did not respond to Times inquiries on Tuesday.
Amy
Mahler, spokeswoman for the Environmental Police, issued a statement
that the agency has had “four reports in 2013 of stolen oysters (from
the Cape) and/or associated equipment from private oyster farms. We are
actively investigating in cooperation with local authorities.”
Diane
Murphy, an aquaculture specialist with the Cape Cod Cooperative
Extension and Woods Hole Sea Grant, said shellfish farming is fraught
with threats from predators in nature. “It's
particularly disappointing to lose oysters to human theft,” Murphy wrote
in an email. “Farmers in the intertidal zone typically tend their
oysters during low tide but are most vulnerable during low tides at
night when thieves are active.”
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