Shellfishing Closed At Hampton-Seabrook Harbor Due To ‘Red Tide’

CONCORD, NH — State officials are banning all shellfishing from the Atlantic coast after “red tide” was detected in blue mussels on Wednesday.

“Red tide,” or paralytic shellfish poisoning, which occurs when shellfish accumulate neurotoxins from naturally occurring marine algae, was detected in mussels from the Hampton-Seabrook Harbor. The level of toxicity was low but samples exhibited rising levels. Blue mussels from Star Island on the Isles of Shoals collected earlier in the week also had toxins in them.

The ban was instituted by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and New Hampshire Fish & Game which will continue to sample shellfish from the ocean through October.

“Red tide toxicity levels are increasing right now in New Hampshire’s coastal waters and in Hampton/Seabrook Harbor and tributaries,” Chris Nash, the shellfish program manager for environmental services, said. “It is too soon to know how severe this algae bloom will be or how long it might last.”

Eating shellfish with the red tide can potentially kill people, according to officials. Cooking also does not make the shellfish safe to eat.

Other shellfishing areas — including the recreational oyster beds around Nannie Island and Adams Point in Great Bay, and the commercial oyster farms in Little Bay, are not affected. Testing at these sites had shown no toxicity, officials said.

The closure does not apply to the harvest or consumption of lobster — although state officials continue to advise consumers to avoid eating lobster tomalley, the soft green substance inside the lobster’s body.

To learn more about the state’s shellfish program, visit this link.

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