Vibrio is a disease that occurs naturally in costal waters where oysters grow. It is also one of the illnesses people can get from eating raw oysters. To limit the risk of vibriosis happening, oystering regulations have been implemented during the warmer months. During Vibrio, May 19th through Halloween, the oysters can be out of the water only for a designated amount of time. From May 19th through July 1st, the time limit is 2 hours. From July 1st through Halloween, it is 1 hour. After oysters have reached their time limit out of the water, oysters must be placed in the ocean for 24 hours before being allowed to be removed again.
Due to these regulations, during Vibrio seasons, most oystering work is done out on the float, avoiding the extra time it takes to transfer the oysters back to our shop. Additionally, we placed a 4' x 4' blue boneyard cooler on our boat, proving a safe way to transport bagged oysters back to the cooled van.
The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) regulates and patrols the bay during this time, boarding boats to check if they meet requirements, checking log books, etc. The oyster companies follow the regulations closely and they keep an eye out for each other.
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