Local Shellfish Lands to Reopen

The Department of Enivornment Conservation (DEC) announced on Tuesday that local shellfish lands that were closed last month due to the presence of marine biotoxins in shellfish, will now reopen.

This week, approximately 4,000 acres of shellfish lands in the towns of Southampton, Riverhead and Southold that were closed, will be open for shellfishing.

These areas were all closed in May after the DEC’s Bureau of Marine Resources detected saxitoxin in mussel samples collected from monitoring sites in each area. Saxitoxin is a naturally occurring marine biotoxin found in dinoflagellates that can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning.

Starting at sunrise on Wednesday, the biotoxin closures for carnivorous gastropods are rescinded in all shellfish lands in western Shinnecock Bay, in the Town of Southampton, and the uncertified lands of Terry and Meetinghouse Creeks in the Town of Riverhead and James Creek, in the Town of Southold.

For more information visit the DEC website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7765.html.