State officials from the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) and Department of Public Health (DPH) will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, April 25, at 2:30 pm, at the Katharine Cornell Theater, to provide information on the 2018 Massachusetts Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) Control Plan for Oysters. The meeting will include a recap of the 2017 Vp control season. No changes to the current plan are being proposed for the 2018 season, but all aquaculturists and wild harvesters who commercially harvest oysters between May 19 and Oct. 19 are encouraged to attend.
Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp.) is a bacteria found in oysters that can cause stomach pain or even be lethal. It is most common during warm summer months, when the bacteria can multiply. The Vp Control Plan is intended to control the post-harvest growth of Vp bacteria in oysters to prevent Vp-related illnesses. The plan was developed by the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, Division of Marine Fisheries, and the Department of Public Health, Bureau of Environmental Health, Food Protection Program, in conjunction with the Massachusetts shellfish industry in order to protect public health and comply with the requirements of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program.
After two oyster-related illnesses in Massachusetts in 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) required Massachusetts to develop a Vp Control Plan for oysters during the high-risk months — May to October. DMF regulates shellfish harvesters, and DPH regulates the dealers that buy from harvesters.
