Edgartown’s bustling aquaculture industry is on hold this week, with Katama Bay oyster farms temporarily closed because of reported cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp). The state Department of Public Health and Division of Marine Fisheries announced the closure, which is expected to last one week, on Wednesday.
In the midst of dire news about declining fish stocks, the developing oyster farming industry on the Vineyard offers a rare opportunity for optimism.
Oysters harvested from Katama Bay in Edgartown earlier this summer have been linked to two confirmed cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection. State and local health officials said no evidence of mishandling was found and no closures have been ordered.
Edgartown shellfishermen are one step closer to farming in a new spot in Nantucket Sound, following an approval from the selectmen on Monday. The site, called the middle flats, is a 35-acre area located about a mile north of Eel Pond.
The state has issued new tougher regulations to guard against outbreaks of a shellfish bacteria known as Vibrio that closed Katama Bay to oyster harvesting for three weeks last fall.
Oyster growers and state officials meet this morning to discuss a state plan to control the bacteria Vp which plagued commercial growers in the region last year, including on the Vineyard. The public meeting is from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre.
