Recreational and commercial oyster harvesting in Georgia will close at 6 a.m. June 1, 2023, and re-open for the year thirty minutes before sunrise on Saturday, October 1, 2023, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced today.
This routine closure meets the requirements of Georgia’s Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) control plan, which protects public health.
“This closure ensures that Georgia meets the requirements of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program to protect public health by implementing a Vp control plan,” explained Dominic Guadagnoli, shellfish fish and water quality manager for the Coastal Resources Division of DNR. “We expect this closure to have little adverse impact on recreational and commercial oyster harvesters, since most individuals refrain from eating freshly harvested wild oysters during the summer months when the combination of spawning and warm water makes oysters less desirable as seafood.”
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