State Closes Lower Sakonnet River to Shellfishing

MIDDLETOWN, RI — Another algae bloom; another shellfishing ban.

The state Department of Environmental Management has closed the lower Sakonnet to shellfishing "until further notice," due to test results Wednesday which showed the presence of a toxic acid.

"The closure includes carnivorous snails, such as whelk and moon snails," from the lower Sakonnet's Harvester Tagging Area 5C," the DEM said.

Earlier this month, the state closed Rhode Island waters (including Mount Hope Bay and Narragansett Bay) as a precaution but lifted the shellfishing ban Oct. 15 after no shellfish tested positive for toxins.

However, the state health department and DEM have continued to monitor the waters affected by the harmful algae bloom toxic phytoplankton, Pseudo-nitzschia spp. Then on Wednesday, shellfish from the lower Sakonnet tested positive for the "toxin domoic acid which is responsible for amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans," the agency said.

"Impacted waters extend north of a line from Sachuest Point to Sakonnet Point Light and south of an east/west line across the Sakonnet River, lying one-quarter mile south of the pipeline just south of Black Point and east of a north/south line running from Flint Point to Taggert's Ferry in Middletown," DEM said.