Shellfish Production or Parking Areas — Whole France

Shellfish production areas are identified under the European Hygiene Package (EC/854/2004) and the Order of 21 May 1999 on the classification of health and the surveillance of production areas and relaying areas for live shellfish. All the shell-producing areas (farming and professional fishing areas) are thus classified as health, defined by prefectural decree. It shall be established on the basis of analyses of the shells 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 determination of contamination of heavy metals (lead, cadmium and mercury), expressed as mg/kg wet flesh. The classification and monitoring of shell production areas distinguishes 3 groups of shellfish in terms of their physiology: — group 1: gastropods (bulots etc.), echinoderms (urchins) and tunicates (violets); more generally wild shells of natural deposits, — group 2: excavating bivalves, i.e. filtering bivalve molluscs whose habitat consists of sediments (pallams, hulls, etc.); more generally wild shells of natural deposits, — group 3: non-husking bivalves, i.e. other filtering bivalve molluscs (oysters, mussels, etc.); more generally farmed shellfish. This concept is quite distinct from the concept of shellfish water quality zone. The contour of the Shellfish Production Area does not correspond to the shellfish cadastre (= cadastre of marine growing establishments).