Oyster Rule and Reg Brochure_letter_CS5 - 7-3-13.indd - Louisiana ...

HarvestersThis publication should not be considered an official copy of the laws and should not be relied uponas such. This publication summarizes the existing laws in effect. As laws may change following theprinting of this publication, the accuracy of the information herein is not guaranteed. It is the obligationand responsibility of the reader to be aware of current laws at all times. the reader should befamiliar with Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 56 and Title 51, the National Shellfish Sanitation ProgramRequirements as well as all official regulations of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission,local and parish ordinances, and federal laws.Commercial Harvest Licenses / PermitsTo take or possess oysters in Louisiana waters for commercial purposes, you must have one or more of thefollowing licenses issued by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).If you: You must have a: Notes:Are operating a commercial fishingvesselUse or possess oyster dredges ortongsHave a vessel fishing commerciallyin the saltwater areas of LouisianaOR carrying oysters for saleAre a commercial fishermenharvesting or possessing oysters inLouisiana state watersAre in charge of an oyster cargovesselHarvesting oysters from CalcasieuLakeTake oysters from the public naturalreefs or the oyster seed groundsCommercial Fisherman’sLicenseCommercial Gear LicenseVessel LicenseOyster Harvester LicenseOyster Cargo VesselPermitCalcasieu Lake OysterHarvester PermitOyster Seed GroundVessel permitThis is a personal license and is nottransferable. It allows you to transportand sell your catch to any wholesale/retail seafood dealer located in andlicensed by the state of Louisiana.You must have a license for each pieceof gear.This license is specific to an individualsvesselExcept those in Calcasieu Lakeor Sabine LakeSeasonsPublic grounds: The oyster harvest seasonfor state public oyster beds generally runsfrom the first Wednesday following LaborDay in September through April 30 of thefollowing year. However, the LouisianaWildlife and Fisheries Commission can openand close the season when biological dataindicate a need. Harvesters should consultthe LDWF website, www.wlf.la.gov, for themost recent information regarding oysterseasons.Private leases: The owner of an oyster leaseor his agents may fish oysters on the leaseat any time of year.All areas: Taking of oysters is prohibitedfrom one-half hour after sunset until onehalfhour before sunrise.3

Did you know?In 2012, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheriesenforcement division inspected about 4,084 of 36,611 oyster fishingtrips, covering about 11% of total trips.Closed AreasThe Louisiana Department of Health andHospitals (LDHH) may close any oyster areafor health reasons. Call 1-800-256-2775 formore information. If LDWF finds a vesselharvesting oysters within an unapproved orclosed area, all oysters on board the vesselshall be deemed to have been taken from theunapproved or closed waters. LDWF will seizethese oysters and return them to the water.LDWF may also revoke the oyster harvester’slicense(s) under which the violation occurred.Removing OystersPublic grounds: You may use dredges,scrapers, and tongs to take oysters frompublic grounds. Dredges and scrapers canbe no longer than six feet wide measuredalong the tooth bar. Dredge teeth shall be nolonger than five inches. Vessels shall use nomore than seven dredges at a time.Private leases: Lessees may use anyimplements or appliances they want as longas they do not impair or destroy the waterbottom.Calcasieu and Sabine Lakes: You may harvestoysters with the following:• Tongs• Hand dredge• Single dredge with mechanical assist thathas a tooth bar no longer than 36 inches• Single scraper with mechanical assistwith a flat bar no longer than 36 inches.In both lakes, your vessel must be selfpropelled,and you may harvest no more than25 sacks of oysters per day for commercialpurposes, unless from a private lease wherecommercial harvest is unlimited.Trawl, Seine, and Skimmer UseYou may not trawl, seine, or use skimmer netsover privately leased bedding grounds forone year immediately following the seedingof such area. The area must be marked orposted as required by law. If you knowinglytrawl or use skimmer nets upon such markedareas, you are liable for damages caused tothe lessee.Unlawful Removal of Oysters or SignsYou are not allowed to knowingly or willfullytake, carry away, or attempt to take or carryaway, any oysters, shell, or cultch from aleased area, unless you have permissionfrom the lessee. Additionally, you are notallowed to willfully remove or alter anystake, monument, bounds, buoy, sign, orother designation of bedding or propagatingground placed by LDWF or in accordancewith its regulations.Cleanliness of Shellfish VesselsYou must wash decks, holds, or binds used forstorage of shellfish daily. Unless otherwiseexempted in writing by LDHH, you musthave a suspended awning (tarp) on yourharvest vessel to protect shellfish from directexposure to sun, birds, and other adverseconditions. It must be at least 12 inches highbut no more than 7 feet high and extend tothe outer edges of the vessel.Sewage Disposal on Shellfish VesselsOwners and operators of all vessels shallprovide suitable waste receptacles withtight fitting lids. These receptacles mustbe properly labeled with the wording “FORHUMAN WASTE ONLY” with letters no smallerthan 1 ½ inches tall. Waste receptacles musthave a capacity of at least 2 gallons for eachperson on the vessel. You must dispose of thecontents of such receptacles by means of amunicipal sewer system, by incineration, or byburial in the ground.4

51% of allEastern Oysterlandings in theU.S. are landed inLouisiana.5

Oyster Seed Ground Vessel PermitOnly vessels with an LDWF-issued oyster seed ground vessel permitcan carry oysters taken from public reefs, oyster seed grounds,or reservations, except those in Calcasieu and Sabine Lakes. Thepermit must be issued in the name of the vessel owner and identifythe vessel permitted. The permit cannot be sold, exchanged, ortransferred. Any vessels taking oysters from public seed groundsmust have also an LDWF-issued VMS unit properly installed andoperating.Culling OystersYou may only cull oysters from open state-designated publicgrounds or leases from which you are authorized to take oysters.When removing oysters from natural reefs, you must immediatelyreturn any oysters measuring less than three inches from hinge tomouth and any dead shell back to the the natural reefs from whichthey were taken. This does not apply if you are lawfully removingseed oysters from natural reefs or if you are a lessee of privatebedding grounds harvesting your own oysters.LDWF may permit lessees to fish oysters of any size, without charge,from the natural reefs of the waters of Louisiana for beddingpurposes only. LDWF may designate from which natural reefsoysters may be fished and the quantity that may be taken.Harvester Log SheetBoth the harvester and the first certified dealer must completethe Harvester-Dealer Time / Temperature Log Sheet to documentcompliance with time to refrigeration requirements. The log sheetmust be maintained for one year. Log sheets for the previous 15days must be kept aboard harvest vessel.Cooler Log SheetOysters harvested for raw consumption (white tag) must adhereto the applicable time and temperature controls established bythe Vibrio vulnificus control plan. During the months May 1st toOctober 31st harvesters are required to maintain a boat cooler logsheet. The harvester must provide harvest records to the originalshellfish dealer demonstrating compliance with the time andtemperature requirments. The record must include the date andtime harvest begins for each lot of shellfish harvested. It shall bethe responsility of the harvester to properly separate and identifyeach lot upon being placed under refrigeration.Note: A proposed rule change that may go into effect in the Fallof 2013 will require harvesters fishing for white tag oysters toattach a tag or label on all containers holding shell-stock, with thecorresponding lot identification number or character printed legibly onthe tag or label, prior to being placed under refrigeration. This tag orlabel shall be approved by the state health officer, and the Secretary ofthe Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.Landing OystersIf you’re harvesting oysters from Louisiana’s public reefs for sale orconsumption, you must land them in Louisiana. You must properlytag and sack or containerize them and pay applicable severancetaxes.You may land oysters harvested from a private lease in Louisiana’swaters outside the state, provided LDWF has permitted you to doso and the oysters are properly tagged. You must install a VMS uniton the vessel used to transport oysters to another state and allowLDWF to access the system.6

oyster Harvest tagsIf you are taking oysters from Louisiana state waters for sale, you must tag all of them with offical oyster harvest tagspurchased from LDWF. These tags are used to identify sacks and any other types of containers used to hold oystersand other mollusks while in their shells. If oysters are sacked or put into containers on the vessel, you must tag themappropriately prior to removing them from the vessel. Otherwise, you must tag oysters that are yet to be sacked orcontainerized immediately upon arrival at the dock prior to shipment.White Tag Green Tag Pink TagDescription & UseFor raw consumption.Refrigeration Air TemperatureLess than or equal to 45 o F.MonthsRequirementsHours UntilRefrigerationInternal MeatTemperatureDec, Jan, Feb 36 10 hrs to 55 o FMar, Apr, Nov 8 10 hrs to 55 o FMay to October 1 6 hrs to 55 o FDescription & UseMust be consumed fully cooked. For shucking orPost-Harvest Processing (PHP) ONLY.Refrigeration Air TemperatureMust be less than or equal to 45 o F.MonthsRequirementsHours UntilRefrigerationInternal MeatTemperatureDec, Jan, Feb 24 hours Can’t ship until internal temp.Mar - May & 18 Hoursis 50 o F or less, unless tripis under 4 hours. If temp. isOct - NovJune - Sept 12 Hoursnot met, shipment can occurewith a time / temp monitoringdevice.Description & UseFor use in Louisiana ONLY. Sacked, boxed, shucked, orfrozen oysters with pink tags CANNOT leave the state ofLouisiana.Refrigeration Air TemperatureLess than or equal to 45 o FRequirementsBefore leaving to fish pink tags fishermen must call800-442-2511 and press “0” for dispatchMonthsHours UntilRefrigerationInternal MeatTemperatureAll 5 NONE7

Did you know?A proposed rule change that may go into effect in the Fall of 2013 will make itillegal for harvesters fishing for oysters intended for raw (half-shell) consumptionduring March to November to also possess oysters intended for shucking, postharvest processing, relay or bedding until all half-shell (white tag) oysters areoff-loaded. Except when refrigeration and time-temperature requirements forhalf-shell (white tag) oysters are followed for all product on board.8

Commercial dealers and shuckersTHiS SeCTiOn SummarizeS lOuiSiana ruleS anD regulaTiOnS perTaining TO DealerS, SHuCKerS, anD reTailerS.Licenses and PermitsTo purchase and resell oysters in Louisiana, you must have one of the following LDWF-issuedlicenses, unless otherwise noted:If you: You must have: Notes:Buy seafood productsdirectly from licensedharvesters.Only purchase seafoodfrom Wholesale/RetailSeafood Dealers andonly sell to the public.A Wholesale/RetailSeafood Dealer Licensefrom LDWFA Retail Seafood DealersLicense (or have yourown Wholesale / RetailDealer License - above)Cost is $250. There are no restrictionson whom these licenseholders may sellseafood products to.Cost is $100*Restaurants selling seafood are exempt from dealer license requirements unless they areserving raw fish products such as raw oysters, sushi or sashimi. These restaurants mustpurchase a Retail Seafood Dealers License in order to purchase products from a Wholesale /Retail Dealer. If restaurant will be buying directly from the harvester they will need an LDWFWholesale / Retail Dealer license.Shuck oysters to sellto another dealer forresaleBuy from harvestersand reship oystersBuy only fromWholesale / RetailDealersAre a seafood retailershucking oysters forsale to the publicA LDHH-issued Shucker-Packer PermitA LDHH ShellstockShipper or ReshipperPermitLDHH Distribution andReshipping PermitLDHH retail permitrequiredShucked oysters must be in an opencontainer, displayed in the service caseor stored in the cooler. Do not packagethem in closed containers except at thetime of sale to the end consumer. Youmay also sell them on the half shell.Standard Volume MeasurementsA Barrel is equal to 6,451.26 cubic inches, or theequivalent of two sacks / baskets. A Sack (sameas a ‘Basket’) is the equivalent of one-half Barrelor 1.5 bushels; which is exactly 3,225.63 cubicinches.The Louisiana Department of Agriculture andForestry (LDAF) certifies metal baskets to ensureaccurate measurement. Contact LDAF’s Weightsand Measure Section at 225-925-3780. LDAFand LDWF agents have the authority to inspectbaskets to ensure volumetric measurements areaccurate. Sacks must contain correct measurementat the time of delivery.V = π (R2+R1*R2+R1 2 )H39

LabelingThe quantity of oysters for sale must beaccurately labeled by volume, weight, orcount in the ‘Quantity’ field on the harvesttag. If labeled as a ‘sack’ they must meet thevolumetric requirement of 3,225.63 cubicinches.If oysters are removed from the shell, theymust be clearly labeled by volume or weight.If oysters are sold by volume or weight, nomore than fifteen percent of the total weightcan be free liquid.If you are packaging, labeling, or distributingshucked oysters, you must follow theguidelines set forth in the NIST Handbook130 as adopted by the National Conferenceon Weights and Measures.Half shell oysters may only be sold by weight(excluding weight of shell) or by count.The state health officer must approveshucked oyster containers. When packingshucked oysters in Louisiana, you must markthe containers with your certified numberpreceded by the letters ‘LA’ and also indicatethe packing date with a code or the actualdate.Tags / ReportingIf you are a dealer, you must keep theharvester’s tag affixed to each container ofshellstock until the container is shipped oremptied for washing, grading, or packing.Retain all tags for at least 90 days.There is a zero tolerance policy for untaggedoyster containers or sacks—any untagged orimproperly tagged container or sack will beconsidered to have been taken from pollutedwaters and deemed a health hazard.Containers of shucked oysters must bedated and have the name and address ofthe original processor, shucker-packer orrepacker, and the Louisiana certificationnumber.You must keep oysters in the container inwhich they were received until they are used,unless displaying them for retail sale. Youmay not mix oysters from different lots.Both the harvester and the first certifieddealer must complete the Harvester-DealerTime / Temperature Log Sheet to documentcompliance with time to refrigerationrequirements. The log sheet must bemaintained for one year. Log sheets forthe previous 15 days must be kept aboardharvest vessel.ProcessingOysters must be shucked and prepackagedonly in LDHH-certified facilities. The LDHHpermit serial number must appear on everypackage, can, carton, or other container inwhich shellfish are packed for distributionand sale.Every dealer must have and implement awritten HACCP plan. Oysters must maintaina temperature of 45 o F or below throughouttransit.Did you know?During the 2013 regularlegislative session, legislatorspassed House Bill 236,increasing penalties forviolations of laws regulatingoyster harvest during healthclosures and health timerestrictions.10

louisiana oyster Harvest factsOyster Task Force301.7million8,040The Oyster Task Force wasestablished to study and monitorthe molluscan industry and to makerecommendations that maximizebenefits from that industry toLouisiana and its citizens. Theyalso coordinate efforts to increaseoyster production and saleability,study declines in molluscanshellfish saleability, and makerecommendations to the State toresolve problems. Oyster Task Forcemeetings are open to the public. Toreceive information about upcomingOyster Task Force meetings, pleaseemail aroth@wlf.la.gov.Harvest AreasLDHH separates Louisianainto 30 harvest areas, setforth by the LouisianaSanitary Code andthe National ShellfishSanitation Program (NSSP).Public Seed GroundsLDWF manages 1.7 millionacres of public oyster seedgroundsPrivate LeasesThere are roughly 8,040private water bottomleases in Louisiana,totaling 400,000 acres.Illegal ActivityReport illegal harvest activity, day ornight, to LDWF at 1-800-442-2511.This public document was published at a total cost of $2,383.86. 2,000 copies of this public document were published in the first printing at a total cost of $2,383.86. Thisdocument was published by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, 2000 Quail Drive, Baton Rouge, LA to inform Louisiana residents and non-residents of therules and regulations pertaining to commercial oyster harvesting, dealing and shucking in Louisiana. This material was printed in accordance with the standards for printingby state agencies established pursuant to R.S.43:31. Printing of this material was purchased in accordance with the provisions of Title 43 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes.11

Drop us a lineLouisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries2000 Quail Drive | Baton Rouge, LA 70808Ph. 225.765.2800wlf.la.govLouisiana Department of Health and Hospitals628 N. 4th Street | Baton Rouge, LA 70802Ph. 225.342.9500dhh.louisiana.govLouisiana Department of Agriculture and ForestryWeights and Measures5825 Florida Boulevard | Baton Rouge, LA 70806Ph. 225.925.3780ldaf.state.la.us