Acres of coastal waters will close to shellfish harvest

Morehead City

Feb 28, 2017

State fisheries authorities will close 2,450 acres of coastal waters to shellfish harvest tomorrow after they failed to meet required bacteriological standards.

Additionally, 50 acres in the Stump Sound area (B-9) of Pender County that closed to shellfish harvest last year will reopen after 2016 sampling showed improved water quality.

The shellfish classification changes are based on water quality samples tested for the past five years for required sanitary surveys and annual reviews of the state’s shellfish growing areas. Three of the past five years saw above average rainfall that causes stormwater runoff that, in turn, washes human and animal waste into the water.

The Division of Marine Fisheries will continue to monitor these areas and if conditions change, they could reopen in the future.

Areas that will close are:

Growing Area Name	Area No.	County	Specific Closure Area	Acres
Lockwoods Folly River Area	A-3	Brunswick	Lockwoods Folly River	120
Lockwoods Folly River Area	A-3	Brunswick	Spring Creek	55
Wrightsville Beach Area	B-7	New Hanover	Oakwinds Marina	6
Wrightsville Beach Area	B-7	New Hanover	Canady’s/Mason’s marinas	1
Topsail Sound Area	B-8	Pender	Mallard Bay Area	17
Mill Creek Area	C-1	Onslow	Fullard Creek	37
Mill Creek Area	C-1	Onslow	Bayshore Marina	4
Queens Creek Area	D-2	Onslow	Queens Creek	93
White Oak River Area	D-3	Carteret	Boathouse/Dubling creeks	22
Deer Creek Area	D-4	Carteret	Bogue Sound Drive Canal	3
North River/Harker’s Island Area	E-6/E-7	Carteret	National Park Service Boat Basin	1
			Jane’s Creek	132
			Sleepy Creek	25
Core Creek/South River Area	F-2	Craven/Carteret	South River	552
			Cedar Creek	95
			Godfrey Creek	28
			Delamar Creek	10
			Kellum Creek	9
Oriental/Broad Creek Area	F-5	Pamlico	Broad/Brown creeks	384
Bay River Area	F-6	Pamlico	Vandemere Area	133
			Bear Creek	75
			Ball Creek	34
Swanquarter Area	G-3	Hyde	Rose Bay	67
Swanquarter Area	G-3	Hyde	Swanquarter Bay	47
Wysocking Bay Area	G-4	Hyde	Outfall Canal/Sage Bay	130
Engelhard Area	G-5	Hyde	Far Creek/Waupopin Creek	370

For specific boundaries, see PA-PC-2017.

For more information, contact Shannon Jenkins, with the Division of Marine Fisheries’ Shellfish Sanitation and Recreational Water Quality Section, at 252-808-8148.

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