Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) enforcement agents cited a Texas man after discovering him violating state oyster regulations, again.
On 14 August, LDWF agents spotted Dickinson, Texas, U.S.A. resident Manuel Martinez processing oysters on the deck of his vessels. After approaching Martinez, the agents discovered he had three bags of untagged oysters in his refrigerator, which he admitted harvesting the day before. Agents returned the oysters to the water and left.
Exactly one month later on 14 September, LDWF agents spotted Martinez harvesting oysters for three hours. When agents finally made contact, they found Martinez in possession of 25 sacks of oysters.
Agents determined that Martinez had not correctly documented his start time in his log book and had failed to refrigerate the oysters within one hour, which is required under state law. The oysters were again seized by enforcement agents and returned to the water.
However, Martinez only faces a USD 25 (EUR 22) fine and the loss of his oysters for violating the sanitation code.
