Test results awaited on reopening Delaware Bay oyster beds

Scores of New Jersey watermen are awaiting the results of laboratory tests - expected as early as tomorrow - that will determine whether the state can lift a ban on shellfishing along a 130-square-mile section of the Delaware Bay.

The action by the state Department of Environmental Protection has affected dozens of oyster boats and is costing the industry tens of thousands of dollars a day.

The DEP ordered the suspension of the oyster, clam and mussel harvest on Tuesday after the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported that two people had fallen ill after eating New Jersey oysters at Maryland restaurant.

The state officials are now tracking down the source of a bacterium known as vibro parahaemolyticus, which has been found in oysters and causes diarrhea, nausea, cramps, headaches and blood infection. The bacterium occurs naturally and thrives in warm waters.

The area of the bay affected by the ban runs from Lower Alloways Creek Township in Salem County to Maurice River Cove at Maurice River Township in Cumberland County.

"We sampled oyster tissue (Tuesday and Wednesday) and the lab results will provide guidance as to whether or not the suspension will be lifted or needs to stay in place," DEP spokeswoman Darlene Yuhas said today.

"The last time we closed the shellfish beds to harvesting for this was in June of 2005. It doesn't happen that frequently," she said.

The ban affects about 80 percent of the oyster beds - about one-third of the Delaware Bay. Shellfish beds south of the affected area remain open.

State officials said the suspension of shellfishing is unlikely to severely hurt New Jersey's industry, which does at least $3 million of business a year.

But oystermen remain anxious to return to the affected harvest areas - and wonder whether the bacteria traced to the oysters developed after the harvest.

"If mishandling happens somewhere in the chain, that can be a problem," said Steve Fleetwood, manager of Bivalve Packing, a Port Norris company that operates 12 oyster boats. "Did the wholesalers where the oysters originated handle any other products from another state?"

Fleetwood, who has been in the oyster industry for more than 20 years, said his company is presently harvesting oysters from beds south of the ban area - and has had a boat there since the state action.

"I have enough oysters planted there to last me until this whole thing is sorted out," he said. "We have a great product. The oysters have been getting better all the time.

"Barring any positive samples (for bacteria) or other problems, I think it (the banned area) will be open by next week."