For Release: Monday, July 19, 2004

DEC Re-opens Shellfishing Areas in East End Towns

Temporary Closures Followed Extremely Heavy Rainfall Last Week

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that it has re-opened all but one of the areas in eastern Suffolk County that were closed to shellfish harvesting following the extraordinary rainfall that occurred on July 12 and July 13, 2004.

DEC acted to close the areas to protect public health following the heavy rains and excessive stormwater runoff associated with the rain event of July 12 and July 13 that exceeded three inches in all the affected areas and passed six inches in some locations on both the north and south forks. Extraordinary amounts of stormwater runoff may cause shellfish in the affected areas to be hazardous for use as food.

Bureau of Marine Resources staff began collecting and examining water samples in the temporarily closed areas on July 13, 2004. Areas were re-opened as sample results determined that water quality was again suitable for the safe harvest of shellfish for human consumption. Commercial and recreational harvesters may resume shellfishing in the normally certified areas in the following bays and harbors:

Town of Southampton: Sag Harbor and its tributaries;
Town of Southold: The shellfish lands within the Town of Southold lying west of Cleves Point; and that portion of Cutchogue Harbor lying north of a line extending northeast from New Suffolk Point to the northernmost point of land at Horseshoe Cove;
Town of Shelter Island: The creeks, bays and harbors within the Town of Shelter Island;
Town of East Hampton: The shellfish lands within the Town of East Hampton including Sag Harbor and its tributaries, Hog Creek, Acabonac Harbor, Napeague Harbor and Montauk Harbor (Montauk Lake).

In the Town of East Hampton, only Three Mile Harbor remains closed to shellfishing. That closure is in effect through July 21, 2004 following the annual fireworks display which attracted several hundred boaters to the area on Saturday, July 17, 2004. Many of the boaters remain on their moored boats overnight in this relatively shallow harbor, increasing the potential for the discharge of sewage from the marine sanitation devices on their boats.

Boaters should be aware that all waters in the Peconic-Gardiners Bay estuary, including Three Mile Harbor, are designated as a No Discharge Zone. Boaters operating in these areas are required to use pump out facilities when they empty their wastewater holding tanks. The Town of East Hampton operates a pump out boat at no fee to boaters. The pump out boat may be hailed using marine radio VHF channel 73.

Text descriptions and color-coded maps of this and other shellfish closures can be viewed on the DEC website.

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