Tuesday, January 10, 2006

More of Newport River to be Closed to Oyster Harvests

If there is an environmental problem or chemical spill that could make oysters in certain waters dangerous to consume, the Shellfish Sanitation Section of the NC Division of Environmental Health will temporary close oyster habitats. They have been using this technique to safeguard the public since a major sewage spill in the late 1960's. The only problem is that many of the areas closed never reopen. Last fall when the NC DEH closed oyster areas due to the runoff from Hurricane Ophelia. Now it seems the trend of dwindling oyster acreage is continuing as more of the Newport River between Morehead City and Beaufort is going to remain closed. Officials believe that one of the primary causes of difficulty for North Carolina's oyster population is the rapid land development in the eastern part of the state. Every new subdivision and parking lot means that more water polluted water will flow directly into NC's rivers. North Carolina agencies have been hard at work this past year trying to revive the oyster population and have instituted a program to allow residents to grow oysters under their piers and also started an oyster shell recycling program to create more habitat. More on the Newport River closing is available at the Newbern Sun Journal.

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