Oyster Bust Reveals 400 Bushels Stored Without Permit: DEC

AQUEBOGUE, NY — A large-scale aquaculture operation was storing oysters without a permit in Riverhead Town, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's environmental conservation police officers.

On Oct. 3, members of the DEC’s division of law enforcement marine enforcement unit and eastern Long Island sector officers documented the large-scale aquaculture operation in Meetinghouse Creek — uncovering oysters stored in uncertified oysters without a permit, the DEC said.

ECOs Ike Bobseine, Jordan Doroski, Robert McCabe, Evan Laczi, and Jeremy Eastwood, under the supervision of Lt. Sean Reilly, interviewed the owner of the business, documented evidence, and seized the shellfish in place — 400 bushels of oysters, which were stored around docks in the creek, the DEC said.

The creek, the DEC added, has been documented in the past by the DEC’s division of marine resources to contain shellfish with parasitic shellfish poisoning.

"Due to the considerable risk to public safety, shellfish from the business were embargoed from retail stores and the shellfish at the facility were not allowed to be used for consumption," a release from the DEC said.

The enforcement case was handled administratively; by early December, a settlement that included a "substantial fine and forfeiture of the oysters" was completed, the DEC said.

The oysters were transplanted into uncertified waters to prevent harvest for commercial sale — and, on Dec. 3, ECOs supervised and assisted the aquaculture business with transplanting the oysters into the bay, the DEC said.

Photo courtesy New York State DEC.