Moriches Bay partly closed to shellfish, carnivorous gastropod harvesting due to biotoxin
Floating cages of oysters on Moriches Bay, July 13, 2022. Credit: Randee Daddona
State environmental officials have announced a temporary ban on the harvesting of shellfish and carnivorous gastropods from a portion of Moriches Bay in the Town of Southampton, having determined that mussels there contained a biotoxin that causes a form of food poisoning.
In addition, the area of Shinnecock Bay that had been closed to the harvest of shellfish and carnivorous gastropods last month was reopened on Saturday, officials said.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation said the Southampton ban was enacted after mussels collected from a monitoring site in Beaverdam Creek tested positive for high levels of the biotoxin saxitoxin, which causes paralytic shellfish poisoning.
Paralytic shellfish poisoning is a foodborne illness that causes a person, within hours of eating contaminated shellfish, to develop gastrointestinal distress and neurological symptoms, including a tingling in the extremities and changes in mental status, according to the National Institutes of Health. Many patients describe a sensation of “floating” or dissociation.
While most patients recover without treatment, weakness may rapidly progress to respiratory paralysis and asphyxiation, the NIH said.
The DEC said it will continue to monitor for the presence of biotoxins in shellfish at several locations around Long Island and implement closures as necessary.
Filter-feeding shellfish — clams, oysters, mussels and scallops — can accumulate marine biotoxins, which can cause illness in shellfish consumers. Carnivorous gastropods — whelks, conchs, and moon snails — feed on shellfish and can accumulate biotoxins at levels that are hazardous to human health, the DEC said.
Approximately 160 acres in Moriches Bay is affected. It includes all the area of Moriches Bay and its tributaries lying north of a line extending easterly from the southernmost tip of land at Tanners Neck, to the southeasternmost point of land at the southeast corner of the property located at 15 Fiske Ave. in Westhampton Beach.
The DEC said it will reopen areas depending on the results of laboratory analyses that will be conducted over the next few weeks.
A recorded message advising harvesters of the status of temporarily closed shellfishing areas may be heard by calling 631-444-0480. The message will be updated during the course of the temporary closures.
Maps of the affected areas and information about these temporary closures are available on the DEC's website.
Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
