Many consumers became ill around Christmas after eating oysters from the Arcachon Basin. A few days before the New Year, the Gironde prefecture had therefore temporarily banned the sale of all the shellfish that were raised there. For the oyster farmers concerned, the shortfall is enormous. There is serious concern among all professionals in the sector, who more broadly fear a crisis of consumer confidence.
Why do oysters from the Arcachon basin remain unfit for consumption?
In a statement published on December 27, the Gironde prefecture reported “several cases of collective food poisoning » and revealed “the presence of norovirus” in oysters from the Arcachon basin. “The symptoms are those of acute gastroenteritis and no serious cases have been reported to date”specified the prefecture.
Oyster farmers strongly emphasize this: it is not the health quality of their products that is in question. The profession is “victim of the saturation of wastewater and rainwater networks”which generates “overflows into the natural environment”thus contaminating the oyster farms, according to the Arcachon Aquitaine Regional Shellfish Farming Committee (CRCAA). In two and a half months, it rained 550 millimeters of water in the area, compared to 800 millimeters per year generally, Olivier Laban, president of the CRCAA and oyster farmer in Gujan-Mestras, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “The sanitation system overflowed and the dirty water migrated to the lowest point, the waters of the basin”he explained. “It’s hard to swallow [l’interdiction à la vente] because we have nothing to do with it, my colleagues and I did our job well”insisted the representative of the profession.
“These temporary bans are not at all linked to the work of shellfish farmersconfirmed the Secretary of State for the Sea, Hervé Berville, in an interview with West Francethe 31st of December. The number one issue is in fact the investment of local authorities in treatment systems [d’eaux usées]. We will make points with communities to accelerate investments where it is necessary. »
Others regions are they affected?
In Normandy, two very limited sectors of Calvados and Manche have also been affected by a temporary sales ban since December 29. These are the productions of Grandcamp-Maisy and Géfosse-Fontenay, in the district of Bayeux, and those of Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, in the north-east of Cotentin.
These bans are justified by the same reasons as in Gironde, namely “cases of collective food poisoning”announced the prefectures in two separate press releases. “Traceability surveys and analyses” carried out in Calvados show “that contamination of oysters (…) is in question », according to the prefecture of this departmentwho did not provide further details. “These measures will be lifted as soon as the health quality of the shellfish becomes fully satisfactory again”added the prefecture.
The Vendée prefecture, for its part, banned on January 3 the fishing and consumption of shellfish from the Payré channel area, in Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, “due to the presence of norovirus”, according to a prefectural press release. “The ban will apply until a satisfactory health situation is restored”, added the prefecture, again without giving a more precise deadline. The time limit is generally twenty-eight days for this type of contamination, a producer told AFP.
What economic consequences for the sector?
These bans, although temporary, are a hard blow for professionals in the sector, because the end-of-year holidays constitute their main sales period. Oyster farmers in the Arcachon basin estimate their losses at around 8 million euros and want to be partially compensated. “Today, we have to know who is going to pay the bill”launched Mr. Laban, once again denouncing the communities managing the sanitation network, “who showed his limits”. “We are not asking for reimbursement of all turnover, only the lost gross margin” because, once the water quality is restored, the oysters can again be offered for sale.
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Mr. Berville assured West France that a crisis meeting was held on December 28 with the Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau. According to the Secretary of State for the Sea, meetings with representatives of the sector were to take place this week “to define the support that will be put in place”. “We are awaiting a precise estimate of the loss of turnover and are considering additional aid for affected companies”, who are not “in no way responsible”, said Mr. Berville again. The Minister for Public Accounts, Thomas Cazenave, declared on January 3 on the social network to have “asked the DGFiP [Direction générale des finances publiques]to Urssaf and to the MSA [Mutualité sociale agricole] special kindness towards affected oyster farmers, in particular granting payment deadlines for tax and social security deadlines”.
In addition to the financial consequences, oyster farmers fear consumer disaffection. “People are no longer buying (…). There is general panic, even though we are not even at 10% of contaminated areas” compared to the entire national production, Philippe Le Gal, president of the National Shellfish Farming Committee, apologized to AFP: “The damage is done, the trust is broken. »