DEC Rescinds Some of Temporary Shellfish Closures

Starting Thursday morning at sunrise, some of the certified shellfishing beds in East Hampton that had previously been closed have been reopened, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The DEC said it rescinded the closure on harvesting shellfish from about 7,200 of the more than 19,000 acres in the towns of Brookhaven, Southampton and East Hampton. 

After torrential rains that dumped 6.25 inches of rainfall on the East End on Sept. 3, the DEC issued the closure the next day. "Runoff from such extraordinary rainfall events adversely affects water quality in shellfish harvesting areas and increases the potential for shellfish to be hazardous for human consumption," the DEC said in a statement.

Following the collection of water samples on Sept. 9, the DEC decided to rescind the temporary closures that were put into place in Accabonac Harbor, Napeague Harbor and Montauk Harbor, in the Town of East Hampton, and in Moriches Bay, which is in the Town of Southampton.

The DEC will continue to collect an analyze water samples for about 4,000 acres of shellfish lands that remain closed.