Shellfish Assessments – provisional Representative Monitoring Point and Boundaries April 2017 to March 2020

Shellfish – Sanitary Surveys and Assessment

At the time of assessment, Regulation (EC) 854/2004 specified the health conditions for the production and placing on the market of live bivalve molluscs, tunicates, echinoderms and marine gastropods. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) as the central competent authority, must establish sampling plans and boundaries for shellfish harvesting areas and classify these on the basis of concentrations of the faecal coliform indicating bacteria, Escherichia coli measured within shellfish flesh. The degree of contamination is determined by samples of shellfish flesh collected from a Representative Monitoring Point (RMP). Carcinus Ltd was contracted by the FSA to assist in fulfilling its obligations under Regulation (EC) 854/2004. To fulfill this requirement, Carcinus undertook an assessment of all new shellfish harvesting applications to evaluate sources and types of microbiological contamination that may affect the area applied for. This process is referred to as a ‘Sanitary Survey’; these assessments considered the following information which is assessed to determine the location for sampling (the RMP), the sampling plan and the boundary for classification:

The location and extent of the applied-for area;
The species of shellfish to be harvested;
The method and seasonality of harvest;
The location of sewage discharges, their nature of discharge, treatment type and volume;
Freshwater inputs and diffuse urban and rural pollution;
Other sources including moored vessels and wildlife;
Hydrodynamics; and
Existing and past shellfish classification status and EC designated bathing waters results.

Sanitary survey reports for England and Wales undertaken between April 2017 and March 2020 can be found by clicking on the relevant locations in the map below.

More Information

If you would like more information regarding our marine environmental services, please view and download our capability statements below. Alternatively, you can contact us. Classification zone assessments and sanitary survey reviews published since May 2020 can be found by following the relevant links.

Our Capability Statements

Marine Benthic Ecology
Marine Benthic Ecology
Marine Fisheries
Marine Fisheries
Aerial Surveys
Aerial Surveys
Environmental Assessment
Environmental Consultancy
Freshwater Ecology
Freshwater Ecology
Water and Sediment Quality
Water and Sediment Quality

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