Tomales Bay, CA Closed for harvesting shellfish. Hog Island oyster bars remain open and sell shellfish purchased in unaffected areas in the state of Washington and beyond.

MARSHALL, California, January 17, 2019 / PRNewswire / – Tomales Bay, California, is temporarily closed to shellfish harvest due to reports of disease and seasonal closure of precipitation. After receiving complaints of clients illness on January 2, Hog Island Oyster Co. opened an investigation into the disease declarations and proceeded to the voluntary recall of oysters harvested in the bay January 3. Reported diseases have occurred between December 28 and January 2. Prior to the closure of the bay, Hog Island Oyster Co. took decisive action to locate potentially affected oysters in specific harvest lots and began contacting all the restaurants they sold to voluntarily recall their product. Hog Island Oyster Co. sells mainly oysters to oyster bars of its namesake, Hog Island, and directly to the restaurants of the Bay.

Sure January 3, Tomales Bay closed for harvesting shellfish due to disease reports. Tomales Bay is currently temporarily closed due to diseases and rainfall. Hog Island Oyster Co. and all other oyster companies in the Bay have stopped harvesting and selling all oysters grown in Tomales Bay. Hog Island Oyster Co. works closely with local, provincial and federal health departments to identify the problem and ensure the safety of all shellfish. Harvesting will resume when the Public Health Department of the Board (CRPD) conducts consecutive tests to determine if the waters and oysters are safe for consumption.

Several clinical tests conducted by county health departments have identified norovirus as the cause of the disease. CDPH has not yet confirmed this information and is currently performing tests on samples of oyster flesh from Tomales Bay. "We are doing everything in our power to investigate the potential cause of these diseases," he said. Terry Sawyer, Co-founder of Hog Island Oyster Co. "This is an anomaly in our area. The last norovirus event that hit Tomales Bay took place in 1998, more than 20 years ago. We are extremely strict in the continuous testing of water quality and oyster samples in our bay. A farmer always wants that to happen. We consider this incident very unhappy and isolated and we will continue to study the problem.

The oyster farm and oyster bars of Hog Island are open during the closure of the bay. They sell oysters and shellfish purchased from trusted shellfish farmers outside the affected area. State of Washington and beyond.

"We are extremely empathetic to all people with an illness and strive to get as much information as possible to minimize any potential risks. improve things for our customers, "said Terry Sawyer. "We thank everyone for their patience and understanding, and we look forward to reopening when we are sure our oysters are safe for consumption." Reopening dates will be determined by tests conducted by the CRPD and weather conditions.

SOURCE Hog Island Oyster Co.