“A certain psychosis has set in,” regrets the president of the national shellfish farming committee

“We are all affected even though 90% of the areas are open and pose no problem,” regrets Philippe Le Gal.

After the contamination of oysters with norovirus in several basins in France, notably in the Arcachon basin or in Normandy, “a certain psychosis has set in” regrets Philippe Le Gal, oyster farmer in Morbihan and president of the national shellfish farming committee, guest on franceinfo Friday January 5.

franceinfo: Do ​​we have an idea of ​​the scale of the phenomenon this year and how long it could last? Does this affect the entire sector?

Philippe Le Gal: Shellfish farming areas are closely monitored in France, there are 375 of them precisely and today, we have around ten areas which are closed. We know that norovirus disappears in 15 days to 3 weeks, but the State is cautious, and so are we, so the affected pools will be closed for 28 days. But a certain psychosis set in and we put all the shellfish in the same bag. There are only ten closed areas, the contaminated oysters have been recalled from the shelves and the oysters currently marketed have no problem. Today, we have a sector at half mast, because we are all affected, even if 90% of the areas are open and pose no problem.

What causes oyster contamination?

Unfortunately, we know this situation perfectly well: we have high rainfall combined with a phenomenon of human gastroenteritis. This is found in sanitation networks and sewage treatment plants which overflow, and all of this ends up in the sea and refiltered by our shellfish.

Is norovirus contamination of oysters inevitable when it rains a lot in winter? Isn’t there a way to avoid it?

Of course yes ! And that’s why, for the past few days, we’ve been annoyed! Urban areas know this well: they must carry out work to separate rainwater from sanitation, it is the law which requires it. And all this is not done or takes too long to be done. And it’s been going on for years. But there are places where it was done, which were singled out three or four years ago, like in the Auray sector (Morbihan): they did the work and separated the networks and therefore it was not There are no more overflow problems and therefore no more closures.