Herring egg harvest reopens from French Creek to Qualicum Bay

Naturally-deposited herring eggs attached to submerged macrophytes. Coiled embryos are evident inside the eggs. Credit: USGS.

The herring egg harvest from French Creek to Qualicum Bay has reopened one year after a small group of people were infected with cholera after consuming the eggs.

In March 2018,  Island Health and the First Nations Health Authority warned people not to eat herring eggs after linking them to Vibrio cholerae infections. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans shut down three fishery management areas from French Creek to Qualicum Bay to hand-picking of herring eggs.

Island Health also found that although water temperatures were below 10 C last March, a relatively high rainfall could have affected different environmental factors, including lowering salinity and increasing nutrient availability.

On Thursday, Island Health said the harvest has reopened but they wanted to remind people how to manage to reduce the risk of contracting Vibrio cholerae.

“Time and temperature control are the most important factors affecting the growth of Vibrio bacteria in seafood.Carrying out some key steps before, during, and after harvesting can reduce some of the risks,” Island Health said.

Here are Island Health’s tips:

Before Harvest:

• Sanitize totes and equipment used for harvest and storage prior to use with a sanitizing agent. Include any surfaces seafood may come in contact with, such as rakes and surfaces within the vessel. Sanitizing options: 200 ppm bleach solution (add 17 mL of 5% sodium hypochlorite to 4 litres of water. Refer to the BC FOODSAFE Chlorine Dilution Calculator to calculate any volume http://www.foodsafe.ca/dilution-calculator.html)OR 200 ppm peracetic acid OR 200 ppm quats (quaternary ammonium) solution OR Environmentally safe disinfectant options to avoid introducing chemicals into the environment:steam or hot water rinsing, cleaning, and sanitizing at temperatures above 70°C or 160°F OR 1 per cent Virkon aquatic solution OR Other recognized sanitizers approved by Health Canada for aquatic environments.

During Harvest:

• Wash hands with drinking-quality water and soap before handling eggs.
• Where possible, rinse eggs using drinking-quality water or use boiled and cooled salt-water to preserve taste (38 g of salt per litre or two heaping tablespoons in 4 cups is equivalent to sea-water specific gravity of 1.026). Rinsing helps to reduce some of the bacteria that may be present.
• Use ice made with drinking-quality water to keep eggs cold.
• Place harvested eggs immediately on plenty of ice in a cooler or tote to keep product cold (less than 4 C) and minimize time outside of cold storage. This will prevent bacteria from growing.

After Harvest:

• Keep harvested eggs cold at all times, including during transportation. Refrigerate or freeze as soon as possible. It is important to avoid delays between harvest and refrigeration.
• Wash hands with drinking-quality water and soap before handling eggs.
• Use drinking-quality water in preparing herring eggs.
• Sanitize equipment and utensils used for handling herring eggs.
• Cook herring eggs to an internal temperature of 63 C for at least 15 seconds to destroy bacteria. Blanching herrings eggs in salted boiling drinking-quality water will also reduce bacteria levels: to blanch add eggs to salted-boiling water for one minute, remove and add to chilled boiled salted water. If cooking is not preferred, be aware that there is always a risk with eating raw seafood.
• Under refrigerated storage at 4 C or lower, seafood will have a shelf-life of one to three days.

If you become ill:

 If you become ill with any of the following symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, vomiting, nausea, or blood in the stool after eating herring eggs, you are advised to visit your health care provider. Individuals with less stomach acid (young children, elderly and those taking antacids) and/or with underlying medical conditions (i.e. chronic liver disease, people with a compromised immune system and people with other chronic illnesses) should be particularly aware of these possible symptoms and seek medical care immediately. Usually the illness is self-limiting and of short duration (less than one week, usually one to three days).

 For immediate help, call the nurse line at 811, or Drug Poison Info Line at 1-800-567-8911

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