Friday, November 21, 2014

N.H. Public Information Meeting On New Shellfish Area Closures

DURHAM, N.H. -- The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, the N.H. Department of Environmental Services (DES) and the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will hold a joint public information meeting on new shellfish area closures for 2015. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 2, 2014, at 7 p.m. at the Urban Forestry Center, 45 Elwyn Road in Portsmouth, N.H. A meeting of the New Hampshire Advisory Committee on Marine Fisheries will take place following the informational meeting.

The shellfish information session is an opportunity for the public to hear about the dye tracking study conducted by DES and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at the Portsmouth Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Facility. The study traced effluent flows to Little Harbor and areas of Portsmouth Harbor out to Odiorne Point. Results of the study indicated a need for shellfish harvesting in these areas to be closed. The study also examined the Piscataqua River, Little Bay, Great Bay and the Bellamy River. Recreational shellfish harvesting on portions of Little Bay and the Bellamy River will be restricted to Saturdays only, from 9 a.m. to sunset, during the open harvest season. The new closures will take effect in 2015.

"The impacts of the Peirce Island wastewater outfall on shellfish harvest opportunities were evaluated in 1999, and since that time there have been new procedures, requirements, and more precise instruments available to do these types of studies," said Chris Nash, DES Shellfish Program Manager. "The updated evaluation from this study illustrates that changes to when and where DES can allow recreational shellfish harvesting are necessary to ensure public health protection. When the City's upgrade of the Peirce Island wastewater facility is complete, DES will reassess the public health risks and modify the harvesting classifications accordingly."

For more information on the need for these changes, go to http://www.des.nh.gov and search for "shellfish."

For the latest information on closed and open shellfishing areas, call Fish and Game's Clam Flat Hotline at 1-800-43-CLAMS. The hotline is updated weekly on Friday afternoons, but harvesters should check back frequently for unscheduled updates. For those harvesting in Little Bay and the Bellamy River open areas, check the hotline after 9 AM on Saturdays for any updates. Information is also posted at FishNH.com and on the NH Coastal Atlas
(http://xml2.des.state.nh.us/CoastalAtlas/Atlas.html).

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the guardian of the state's fish, wildlife and marine resources and their habitats. Visit http://www.wildnh.com/marine.

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Shellfish Program is responsible for evaluating the sanitary quality of the state's tidal waters, to ensure that molluscan shellfish harvested from those waters are suitable for human consumption. For more information, visit the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services at http://www.des.nh.gov.

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Shellfish Sanitation Program is responsible for ensuring that commercial processing of shellfish within New Hampshire is done in a safe and sanitary manner. For more information, visit http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/fp/shellfish/index.htm.


CONTACT:
Chris Nash, DES: 603-559-1509
Doug Grout, NHFG: 603- 868-1095
Nicola Whitley, DHHS: 603-271-9388