{"id":7802,"date":"2025-06-24T15:01:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T19:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/blue-ridge\/?page_id=7802"},"modified":"2026-01-14T15:01:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T20:01:01","slug":"safe-shellfish-harvesting","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/blue-ridge\/safe-shellfish-harvesting\/","title":{"rendered":"Safe Shellfish Harvesting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The VDH Division of Shellfish Safety &amp; Waterborne Hazards (DSSWH) is responsible for protecting the health ofhttps:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/196\/2025\/06\/shutterstock_456531082.jpg the consumers of molluscan shellfish and crustacea by ensuring that shellfish growing waters are properly classified for harvesting, and that molluscan shellfish and crustacea processing facilities meet sanitation standards.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Shellfish Safety Links<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/196\/2025\/06\/shutterstock_456531082.jpg\" width=\"305\" height=\"204\" \/><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Summer Oyster Harvest Inquiries:<\/strong><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>The regulations regarding the harvest of shellfish during the summer months, 4VAC20-1230-30 \u201cPublic Health and Warm Water Harvest Restrictions,\u201d can be found\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/admincode\/title4\/agency20\/chapter1230\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Notification Database Form:<\/strong><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>Submit your information to receive alerts when shellfish condemnations change <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/vdhweb.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health-services\/division-of-shellfish-safety\/7945-2\/\">here<\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Updated Shellfish Closure and Shoreline Survey documents:<\/strong><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>Shellfish closure and Shoreline Survey documents can be accessed via the Division\u2019s\u00a0<em><u>external<\/u><\/em>\u00a0document web page found\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/shellfish-closure-and-shoreline-survey-documents\/\">here:<\/a><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/environmental-health-services\/shellfish-safety\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\">Shellfish Safety \u2013 Environmental Health<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Water Sampling Slideshow:<\/strong><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>View a slideshow to learn more about the Division\u2019s sampling of Virginia\u2019s waterways\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/vdhweb.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health-services\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/04\/SeawaterSampling.ppt\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\">here.<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The VDH Division of Shellfish Safety &amp; Waterborne Hazards (DSSWH) is responsible for protecting the health ofhttps:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/196\/2025\/06\/shutterstock_456531082.jpg the consumers of molluscan shellfish and crustacea by ensuring that shellfish growing waters [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7802","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Safe Shellfish Harvesting - Blue Ridge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/blue-ridge\/safe-shellfish-harvesting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Safe Shellfish Harvesting - Blue Ridge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The VDH Division of Shellfish Safety &amp; 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