The Hérault prefecture announced on Friday that it would ban the harvesting and marketing of all shellfish from the Thau pond, with the exception of oysters, due to the presence of toxins making them unfit for consumption.
Given the results of the toxin research carried out on mussels and oysters, the prefect "decided today to ban recreational and professional fishing, collection, transport, purification, shipping, distribution and marketing for human consumption of all the shellfish from the areas of the Thau lake".
Oysters not concerned
It is not pollution, but toxins brought by microscopic plants, phytoplankton, which are not destroyed by cooking, according to the prefecture.
Only oysters are not affected by contamination and “can be consumed without restriction”, as well as “other types of shellfish harvested before January 18, 2022”, she specified.
“This temporary measure will be lifted as soon as the health security conditions are met for a reopening of the production areas”, adds the press release.
A true inland sea, the Thau lagoon extends over some 7,000 hectares, near Sète.
It is both an exceptional ecosystem and the largest shellfish farming area in the Mediterranean (10% of national oyster production and some 3,000 jobs).
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Oysters
Contamination
Montpellier
Languedoc Roussillon
Consumption
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