As the summer tourist season begins, visitors to Maine as well as residents are being reminded of a red tide harvest closure along the southern Maine Coast.
Red tide is an algal bloom that produces a toxin that can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. Maine Department of Marine Resources spokesman Jeff Nichols says harvesting of mussels, European oysters and carnivorous snails, also known as welks, is currently prohibited from the Maine-New Hampshire border to Pemaquid Point, which is just east of Boothbay Harbor.
“And that extends also to all the offshore islands in that stretch,” he says.
Harvesting of all species of clams is prohibited from the Spurwink River in Cumberland County to the New Meadows River on the Cumberland County-Sagadahoc County line.
DMR says the listed shellfish should only be harvested from open areas or purchased from certified shellfish dealers.
