A 462-acre shellfishing area along the Portsmouth shoreline just south of the Mount Hope Bridge will reopen for the first time since 1975, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management announced.
The area has met water quality and shellfish sanitation criteria and will be upgraded from prohibited to approved for harvest on May 23. DEM said improvements in wastewater management from infrastructure investments have resulted in lower bacteria levels in the area.
“We’re very excited to be able to open a new area in Narragansett Bay to shellfishing,” said DEM Director Terry Gray. “Significant investments in wastewater treatment facilities and statewide efforts to better manage stormwater have led to improved water quality and our monitoring clearly showed the results, allowing us to open up a new 462-acre area for shellfish harvest that has been closed since 1975. It’s particularly nice that we can announce this during Quahog Week.”
The announcement comes during the 10th annual Quahog Week, which runs May 17 to 23 and highlights the cultural and economic importance of the quahog, Rhode Island’s official state clam.
The same day the Portsmouth area reopens, annual seasonal shellfish closures will take effect at sunrise Saturday, May 23, and remain in place until Tuesday, Oct. 13. The closures are implemented in accordance with federal regulations due to potential water quality impacts from marinas and mooring fields.
The seasonal closure areas are within Bristol Harbor; the Dutch Harbor area in Jamestown; Fishing Cove in Wickford Harbor; Great Salt Pond and Trims Pond on Block Island; Potter Cove on Prudence Island; and Sakonnet Harbor in Little Compton. Small seasonal marina closures in the southern coastal ponds, Fort Wetherill and the Kickemuit River in Warren will also take effect May 23.
“Seasonal closures are in place to safeguard public health as more and more boaters get on the water for the summer,” Gray said. “DEM will keep on working with our partners to protect our waters and continue investments and improvements in Narragansett Bay, which is so central to the quality of life for all Rhode Islanders.”
Administered by DEM’s Office of Water Resources in coordination with the Rhode Island Department of Health and shellfishing partners, the state’s shellfish monitoring program divides Rhode Island’s shellfish waters into individual growing areas, each assigned a harvest classification of approved, conditionally approved or prohibited. DEM staff work to ensure shellfish harvested from approved waters remain safe through water quality testing, shoreline surveys and rapid pollution response.
More information on seasonal and shellfish harvesting classifications is available in the annual notice at dem.ri.gov/shellfish, where an interactive shellfishing map is also available. For information on emergency and conditional area closures, residents can call DEM’s 24-hour shellfishing hotline at 401-222-2900.
