Shellfishing within the entirety of Buzzards Bay was abruptly closed on Friday, October 7, due to a potentially toxic phytoplankton bloom, which the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries said in a public emergency closure announcement can cause Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP).
Ingestion of these biotoxins causes nausea, vomiting, cramps, severe gastrointestinal conditions and, in severe cases, headaches and neurological effects such as dizziness, confusion, loss of memory, and seizures. Potentially serious respiratory conditions could develop, and possibly death.
The emergency shellfishing closure officially went into effect at sunrise on Saturday, October 8 and will remain in effect until further notice.
Digging, harvesting, collecting, and attempting to dig, harvest, or collect shellfish, as well as the possession of shellfish from Buzzards Bay are prohibited, says the public notice.
The only exception to the shellfishing closure is the harvesting of bay and sea scallop abductor muscles (the part of the shucked scallop that is extra tough, as opposed to the adductor part of the scallop usually eaten) and carnivorous snails.
The Buzzards Bay area municipalities of Mattapoisett, Marion, Bourne, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Falmouth, Gosnold, Westport, and New Bedford will not be open for shellfishing until the Division of Marine Fisheries further examines the waters for the phytoplankton known as Pseudo-Nitzschia, which contains the biotoxin domoic acid that accumulates in the shellfish and causes ASP.
By Jean Perry