July 10, 2017 — Shellfish growing areas in six towns that were closed by the state Division of Marine Fisheries on Friday remained closed Monday pending lab results of bacteriological water samples from the affected areas, according to Katie Gronendyke, spokeswoman for the state Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
The state closed shellfish growing areas east of the Cape Cod Canal in the towns of Sandwich, Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, Barnstable and in Lewis Bay in Yarmouth because of extreme rainfall. Shellfish beds in Sandwich are open only from November through May, according to the Sandwich Department of Natural Resources.
Friday’s rain, which accumulated up to 4 inches in two to three hours in some areas, overwhelmed roads, parking lots and storm drain systems, Gronendyke wrote in an email. The flooding can cause contaminated water to accumulate and release into coastal waters, she wrote.
The towns in which the shellfish growing areas were closed received the heaviest rainfall, she wrote.