MOREHEAD CITY – The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries closed 2,450 acres of water to shellfish harvest after the areas did not meet bacterial water quality standards, the agency announced Tuesday.
The closures are the result of sanitary surveys and reviews from the last five years of shellfish growing areas. The division said that the past three of five years had higher than usual rainfall, washing pollution and human and animal waste into the water bodies.
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The division said it will continue to monitor the areas and said the areas could reopen in the future if conditions change.
Proponents of stormwater management, including the North Carolina Coastal Federation, say natural options such as swales and rain gardens can reduce the amount of harmful pollution and bacteria from reaching waters and help limit the number of shellfish closures.
In the Queens Creek area near Swansboro in Onslow County, 93 acres were closed just as the town passed a watershed restoration plan Monday designed to reduce water pollution, the Jacksonville Daily News reported.
Fifty acres in Stump Sound in Pender County have been reopened after 2016 sampling led to closure of the site.
| Growing Area Name | Area No. | County | Specific Closure Area | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lockwoods Folly River Area | A-3 | Brunswick | Lockwoods Folly River | 120 |
| Spring Creek | 55 | |||
| Wrightsville Beach Area | B-7 | New Hanover | Oakwinds Marina | 6 |
| Canady’s/Mason’s marinas | 1 | |||
| Topsail Sound Area | B-8 | Pender | Mallard Bay Area | 17 |
| Mill Creek Area | C-1 | Onslow | Fullard Creek | 37 |
| Bayshore Marina | 4 | |||
| Queens Creek Area | D-2 | Onslow | Queens Creek | 93 |
| White Oak River Area | D-3 | Carteret | Boathouse/Dubling creeks | 22 |
| Deer Creek Area | D-4 | Carteret | Bogue Sound Drive Canal | 3 |
| North River/Harker’s Island Area | E-6/E-7 | Carteret | National Park Service Boat Basin | 1 |
| Jane’s Creek | 132 | |||
| Sleepy Creek | 25 | |||
| Core Creek/South River Area | F-2 | Craven/Carteret | South River | 552 |
| Cedar Creek | 95 | |||
| Godfrey Creek | 28 | |||
| Delamar Creek | 10 | |||
| Kellum Creek | 9 | |||
| Oriental/Broad Creek Area | F-5 | Pamlico | Broad/Brown creeks | 384 |
| Bay River Area | F-6 | Pamlico | Vandemere Area | 133 |
| Bear Creek | 75 | |||
| Ball Creek | 34 | |||
| Swanquarter Area | G-3 | Hyde | Rose Bay | 67 |
| Swanquarter Bay | 47 | |||
| Wysocking Bay Area | G-4 | Hyde | Outfall Canal/Sage Bay | 130 |
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