The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that shellfish harvesting areas in three Nassau County towns and one Suffolk County town have been temporarily designated as uncertified (closed) for shellfish harvesting. These temporary closures are implemented due to the heavy rainfall and stormwater runoff from the continuous rainfall event on Thursday, Sept. 28, through Friday, Sept. 29, where some areas received as much as 4.5 inches of rain. DEC is monitoring ongoing localized rainfall totals and may implement additional closures as necessary.

The following areas in Nassau and Suffolk counties are designated as uncertified (closed) and the harvesting of shellfish is temporarily prohibited until DEC determines conditions no longer exist that may make shellfish hazardous for use as food:

• Town of Hempstead:All that area of Hempstead Bay and East Bay including their tributaries lying west of the Wantagh State Parkway.

• Towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay: Entirety of Long Island Sound and Hempstead Harbor including their tributaries lying west of a line extending northeasterly from Matinecock Point to the Connecticut-Westchester County State Boundary.

• Towns of Oyster Bay and Huntington: Entirety of Cold Spring Harbor and Oyster Bay Harbor, including their tributaries lying south of a line extending easterly from Rocky Point to Whitewood Point.

DEC will reopen areas as soon as possible based on the results of water quality testing of samples collected from the affected areas.

A recorded voice message advising harvesters of the status of the areas may be heard at 631-444-0480. The message will be updated over the course of these temporary closures with information about re-openings. For more detailed descriptions of the closed areas, call DEC's Bureau of Shellfisheries during normal business hours on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 631-444-0492.

Additional information about temporary closures is available on DEC's website.