Shellfish production or farming areas - Métropole

Shellfish production areas are identified under the European hygiene package (EC/854/2004) and the Order of 21 May 1999 on health classification and surveillance of production areas and relaying areas for live shellfish. All shellfish production areas (farming and professional fishing areas) are thus subject to a health classification, defined by prefectural order. This is established on the basis of analyses of the shellfish present: microbiological analyses using Escherichia coli (E. coli) as an indicator of contamination (in number of E. coli per 100 g of flesh and intervalvary liquid (CLI)) and assay of heavy metal contamination (lead, cadmium and mercury), expressed in mg/kg wet flesh. The classification and monitoring of shellfish production areas distinguishes three groups of shellfish in terms of their physiology: - Group 1: gastropods (bulots etc.), echinoderms (urchins) and tunicates (violets); more generally wild shells from natural deposits, - Group 2: burrowing bivalves, i.e. filter-feeding bivalve molluscs whose habitat consists of sediments (clams, shells, etc.); more generally wild shells from natural deposits, - Group 3: non-burrowing bivalves, i.e. other filter-feeding bivalve molluscs (oysters, mussels, etc.); more generally farmed shellfish. This concept is quite distinct from that of the shellfish water quality zone. The outline of the Shellfish Production Area does not correspond to the shellfish cadastre (= cadastre of marine culture establishments).