West Marin's Drakes Bay Oyster Co., which closed last month after three illnesses were linked to its raw oysters, has been cleared by the state and has reopened under a monitoring system set up to make sure its shellfish remain free of an illness-causing bacterium.
The state Department of Public Health gave Drakes Bay, the largest oyster grower in the state, the go-ahead to reopen last Wednesday, and the Inverness-area company was up and running in full operation on Friday afternoon.
The bacterium, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, naturally inhabits coastal waters in the United States and Canada and is present in higher concentrations during the summer, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It can cause vomiting, cramps and flu-like symptoms, but most infected people recover without treatment in a few days.
"Successive samples collected during the beginning of September did not contain detectable amounts of the naturally occurring bacterium, Vibrio parahaemolyticus," a spokesman for the Department of Public Health said.
The monthlong closure of the company has been "difficult financially," according to Kevin Lunny, president of the family-owned business, which employs about 30 full-time workers. "But we're thrilled to be back at it," he said.
When Drakes Bay was shut down on Aug. 8, it voluntarily recalled its in-shell and shucked oysters.
To ensure that its oysters aren't contaminated in the future, it has voluntarily agreed to test each batch harvested from Drakes Estero, its growing waters in the Point Reyes National Seashore.
"Frankly, we don't think there was any risk from shellfish from Drakes Estero, but we also recognize we should never take a chance," Lunny said.
Nearby Tomales Bay Oyster Co. remains open, although most of its oyster beds have been closed since Aug. 20, when they also were found to be contaminated with the bacterium. Since then, the company has been selling oysters from the state of Washington and from beds in the part of Tomales Bay not affected by the closure. Like Drakes Bay, it is testing batches of oysters before they are sold, the health department said.
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