Oyster Bay, NY - June 11, 2014 - Shellfish harvesting in the eastern section of Oyster Bay Harbor, in the Town of Oyster Bay, will again be permitted, effective Thursday, June 12, 2014, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today. The reopening includes approximately 800 acres.
DEC reopened the normally certified (open) area in eastern Oyster Bay Harbor following its testing of oyster and clam samples that were collected earlier this week.
To protect public health, DEC temporarily closed all the certified areas in Cold Spring Harbor and Oyster Bay Harbor on May 23 following a malfunction at the wastewater treatment plant serving the Oyster Bay Sewer District. The bypass released approximately 125,000 gallons of partially treated sewage and sludge into Oyster Bay Harbor.
Beginning at sunrise on Thursday, June 12, commercial and recreational shellfish harvesting may resume in the following area:
Town of Oyster Bay: All the normally certified shellfish lands in Oyster Bay Harbor lying easterly of a line extending southerly from Brickyard Point (Centre Island) to the landward end of the rock jetty located approximately 100 feet east of the boat launching ramps in Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park.
DEC previously reopened 4,300 acres in the normally certified portions of Cold Spring Harbor and western Oyster Bay Harbor in stages during the last two weeks based on its review of a dilution analysis and testing of water and shellfish samples which showed that conditions that could make shellfish potentially hazardous to consumers were not present in that area. With the June 12 reopening in eastern Oyster Bay Harbor, all the areas that had been closed on May 23 are again available for the harvest of shellfish.
A recorded message advising harvesters of the status of temporary shellfish closures may be heard at 631-444-0480. That message is updated during the course of the temporary closures. For additional information, call DEC's office of Marine Resources during regular business hours at 631-444-0492 or visit DEC's website.