The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) today announced that the emergency closure of Upper Narragansett Bay shellfish ‘Area A’ and ‘Area B’ will end at sunrise on Friday, December 20.
The emergency closure was put in place after last week’s heavy rain. Water samples collected this week demonstrated that bacteria levels in both areas have returned to levels that support safe shellfish harvest, allowing them to reopen for shellfish harvest at sunrise tomorrow, according to DEM.
Other conditionally approved shellfish areas in Upper Narragansett Bay remain closed. Providence River Area E and Greenwich Bay are closed and are scheduled to reopen for shellfish harvest at noon on Thursday, Dec. 26.
DEM, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), and the RI Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), along with industry partners, collaborate to ensure that shellfish grown and harvested from Rhode Island waters continues to be a quality safe seafood product to be enjoyed by all consumers. This monitoring enables a quick response when conditions indicate a change in water quality due to natural events such as algae blooms or unusual weather events.
For more information on the shellfish harvesting classifications, review the annual notice available at www.dem.ri.gov/shellfish. An interactive shellfishing map is also available.
For information on emergency and conditional area water quality related shellfish closures, call DEM’s 24-hour shell fishing hotline at 401-222-2900 or sign up for DEM’s Office of Water Resources’ listserv here: RishellfishOWR-subscribe@listserve.ri.gov.
