VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CLOSES PARROTT ISLAND TO SHELLFISH HARVESTING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 27, 2019
For More Information Contact: Larry Hill, Eastern Region PIO, (757 ) 449-4287

VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CLOSES PARROTT ISLAND TO SHELLFISH HARVESTING

(RICHMOND, Va.) — The Virginia Department of Health announced today that the shellfish harvesting waters surrounding Parrot Island in the Rappahannock River in Middlesex County are closed to the harvest of oysters and clams effective December 27, 2019.  This closure is a result of notification of a Norovirus Outbreak in Colorado that has been epidemiologically linked to shellfish harvested from this area.

Maps of the affected areas are posted on the Division of Shellfish Sanitation’s home page at www.vdh.virginia.gov/Shellfish/.  The affected shellfish are bivalve mollusks including oysters and clams, but not crabs or fin fish.

For more information on shellfish closures, see the frequently asked questions on shellfish condemnations at www.vdh.virginia.gov/EnvironmentalHealth/Shellfish/faq/.