Indian River Bay reopens to clamming, shellfish harvest

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control reopened the Indian River Bay to clamming and shellfish harvest Feb. 6, after a mandatory 21-day closure that followed a Jan. 15 wastewater release from the Town of Millsboro’s sewage system.

The emergency closure was enforced by DNREC under National Shellfish Sanitation Program requirements when the sewage spill threatened to impact the bay. The closure period was protective of public health and also allowed time for natural cleansing of both bivalve shellfish and areas of the Indian River Bay that the clams and mussels inhabit.

In lifting the closure, the DNREC Shellfish Program reiterated that the Indian River Bay closure did not impact Rehoboth Bay, particularly the oysters grown there under commercial aquaculture leases. The harvest of crabs, conch and finfish in the Indian River Bay was not affected by the closure.

More information about closures and the DNREC Shellfish Program is available on the de.gov/shellfish webpage.