Harmful algae bloom bans shellfish harvesting in parts of RI

Rachael Perry

By: News Staff

news@abc6.com

Twitter: @ABC6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. –The Rhode Island Departments of Environmental Management (DEM) and Health (RIDOH) announced on Tuesday that areas of Rhode Island Sound and the Narragansett Bay have been closed to shellfishing until further notice.

Authorities say Narragansett Bay just south of the Newport Pell and Jamestown Verrazzano Bridges, and lower Sakonnet River will be closed to shellfishing beginning at sunrise on Wednesday, March 1, due to a confirmed harmful algae bloom (HAB).

This type of bloom is caused by the phytoplankton, Pseudo-nitzschia spp.

All Rhode Island waters north of Point Judith to the southern tip of Gooseberry Neck, south from the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, south from the Newport Pell Bridge and south of an east/west line across the Sakonnet River lying one-quarter mile south of the pipeline found just south of Black Point are all impacted by this ban.

The shellfishing closure stems from samples collected on Sunday, February 26 and Monday, February 27 from five lower Bay locations off Jamestown, Newport, and Little Compton.  

The closures exclude carnivorous snails, such as whelk and moon snails. 

For updates on shellfish closure areas, contact the DEM 24-hour shellfishing hotline at 401-222-2900 and/or sign up for the DEM Marine Fisheries email list at rimarinefisheries-subscribe@listserve.ri.gov.

©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2017

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