Maine Red Tide and Shellfish Sanitation Hotline
1-800-232-4733 or 207-624-7727
See Bacterial (Pollution, Flood) Closures and PSP (Red Tide) Closures for more detailed information and maps.
Current hotline text:
"This message was last updated on Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 10:13 AM.
Thank you for calling the Department of Marine Resources Red Tide and Shellfish Sanitation Hotline.
All pre-existing pollution and Red tide/ PSP closures remain in effect.
For details on closure lines, please see the website at www.maine.gov/dmr or contact your local marine patrol officer.
The DMR announces the following:
Area No. 17-A, Upper Harpswell Neck and Long Reach (Brunswick to Harpswell): This amendment reduces the prohibited area at Lookout Point as a result of inspection and remediation of potential pollution sources.
Area No. 21-A, Upper Sheepscot River and Tributaries (Wiscasset, Alna, Newcastle): This amendment reclassifies Polly Clark Cove in the upper Sheepscot River from approved to seasonal conditionally approved based on an open season from September 1 to May 31, due to water quality not meeting the approved standard during the closed season.
Area No. 26, Medomak River (Waldoboro, Bremen, and Friendship): This amendment reopens one of the conditional rainfall areas (C.) due to water quality returning to approved standards.
Automatic – Main Menu (50105)
This system is provided to allow public access to the current status for red tide closures, large-scale flood related closures and the status of conditionally approved and conditionally restricted harvest areas.
If you have a touch-tone phone, and you know your selection, you may press it at anytime during this message.
There are many closures due to sewage pollution in effect along the entire Maine coast. If you need more details about these pollution closures, you should contact the Marine Patrol Division in the area in which you plan to harvest.
These are:
* Division I: Includes the area from the N.H. border to the western shore of the St. George River. Their number is 633-9595.
* Division II: Includes the area from the eastern shore of the St. George River to the Canadian Border. Their number is 667-3373.
If you are calling from a touchtone phone and want access to red tide closures, press 1 now. If you want information about the current status of a flood closure, press 2 now. If you want information on the status of conditionally approved harvest areas press 3 now. If you are calling from a rotary phone, stay on the line and you will hear all messages.
Red Tide Closures (50100)
If you know the selection you want, you may press it at anytime during this message. Red tide closures are organized by species. For the latest closure information press the appropriate number associated with the species. Only the shellfish mentioned below are affected by “red tide” and other marine biotoxins. Red tide and other toxin closures do not affect lobsters, shrimp, crabs, finfish or periwinkles.
For Soft Shell Clams, Oysters and Surf or Hen Clams, press 1 now; for Mussels and Carnivorous Snails, press 2 now; for Ocean Quahogs or Hard Clams, press 3 now; for Whelks, press 4 now.
Press 9 to repeat these menu options.
1 – Soft Shell Clams, Surf or Hen Clams, and Oysters (50101):
There is a closure for all species of clams in the waters surrounding Mount Desert Rock, Schoodic Point, Harpswell and Phippsburg and Boothbay Harbor. There is a closure for European oysters in the waters surrounding Mount Desert Rock, Harpswell and Phippsburg and Boothbay Harbor.
Press 9 to repeat this information. Press 0 to return to the main menu.
2 – Mussels and Carnivorous Snails (50102):
There are currently closures for mussels in the waters surrounding Mount Desert Rock, the waters around Mt. Desert Isl., Isle Au Haut, Swans Isl. and Schoodic Point; the waters around Harpswell and Phippsburg; the waters around Casco Bay and Scarborough; the waters around Boothbay Harbor, Southport and Friendship; and the waters around Great Head (Cutler) to Moose Cove (Trescott).
The closures for carnivorous snails are the same as the closures for mussels, except that the waters in Lobster Management Zones C and D from Bristol to Surry are closed to harvest of carnivorous snails, due to an increase in PSP levels nearshore and a lack of monitoring on offshore islands.
Press 9 to repeat this information. Press 0 to return to the main menu.
3 – Ocean Quahogs or Hard Clams (50103):
There is a closure for all species of clams in the waters surrounding Mount Desert Rock, Schoodic Point, Harpswell and Phippsburg and Boothbay Harbor. There is an exception for hard clams (quahogs) in the Upper New Meadows Lake allowing harvest north of the Rt. 1 bridge.
There are two closures for the harvest of ocean quahogs. The first closure extends from the Maine-New Hampshire border to Schoodic Point in Winter Harbor, and seaward to the limits of U.S. jurisdiction.
The second closure extends from Schoodic Point, Winter Harbor to the Canadian border, and seaward to the limits of U.S. jurisdiction. There is an exception area for harvest, from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, between Schoodic Point (Winter Harbor) and Stone Island (Machiasport). There is also a small exception area for harvest near Cross Island (Cutler).
Ocean quahogs may be wet stored by certified dealers who currently hold a valid wet storage permit issued by the Department in accordance with DMR Regulations 15.32 to 15.35.
Press 9 to repeat this information. Press 0 to return to the main menu.
4 – Whelks (also known as conchles or conchs) (50104):
All Maine flats and waters located between the New Hampshire boundary and the Canadian boundary out to the jurisdiction of the United States are closed for the taking of whelks.
There is one EXCEPTION to this rule. The common Northern whelk (also known as the waved whelk) and the Stimpson’s whelk can be harvested in the waters of the State of Maine, except where there is a PSP closure in place for carnivorous snails.
Press 9 to repeat this information. Press 0 to return to the main menu.
Flood Closures (50106):
There are no flood closures in effect.
Press 9 to repeat this information. Press 0 to return to the main menu.
Conditional Areas: (50109)
There are several shellfish areas in the state of Maine which open and close depending on various conditions, which affect pollution levels. A list of these areas is available from the Marine Patrol. To listen to the current status for conditional areas impacted by rainfall or sewage treatment plant malfunctions, press 1 now. To listen to a list of areas which open and close on a seasonal basis press 2 now.
Press 9 to repeat these menu options.
Rainfall, Sewage Treatment Plant and River Discharge Conditional Areas (50110):
The following list includes changes to the conditional areas which are currently closed for shellfish harvesting due to either rainfall, a malfunction at a local sewage treatment plant or exceeding river discharge. This list was updated on May 25, 2012. If you know you will be harvesting in a conditional area, you should check with your local Marine Patrol Officer, your local shellfish warden, or your local shellfish committee.
Area No. 26, Medomak River (Waldoboro, Bremen, and Friendship): This amendment reopens one of the conditional rainfall areas (C.) due to water quality returning to approved standards. The other conditional rainfall areas remain closed.
Area No. 40, Northern Morgan Bay (Surry), Union River Bay, Patten Bay and Heath Brook (Surry, Ellsworth, Trenton) and Goose Cove (Trenton) has been modified to close the Union River Bay, Patten Bay and Heath Brook Conditionally Approved areas due to a malfunction/CSO event of the Ellsworth Wastewater Treatment plant.
Area No. 55, Machias and East Machias Rivers, Machias Bay and vicinity (Machias, East Machias, Machiasport) has been amended to close the Randall Point Flats and Sanborn Cove Conditionally Approved areas and the Sanborn Cove Conditionally Restricted areas due to a malfunction/CSO event of the Machias Wastewater Treatment Plant.
For details about the closure lines contact the local Marine Patrol Headquarters in your area.
Press 9 to repeat this information. Press 0 to return to the main menu.
Seasonal Conditional Areas (50111):
This information is no longer recorded. The seasonal closures are embedded in those legal notices marked with a red asterick on the DMR website with the Bacterial and Pollution closures, at www.maine.gov/dmr
Press 9 to repeat this information. Press 0 to return to the main menu.
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