Shellfish Closure in Prospect and Terence Bay, Nova Scotia

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) advises the public that the harvesting of bi-valve molluscs, for recreational or commercial purposes, in part of Prospect Bay and Terence Bay in Nova Scotia is closed due to an increase in levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to Oceans and Fisheries Canada.

No person shall, in the area described in the schedule, fish for all clams, all mussels, all whelks, all oysters and Bay scallops.

That portion of Prospect Bay, N.S., inside a line drawn from grid reference 436595 4924208 (Indian Point) to grid reference 442316 4920415 (Marrs Head) then to grid reference 444618 4924179 (Upper Cheaters Head).  Refer to map Halifax 11D/12 and Sambro 11D/05.

Note: When the boundary of an area is expressed in grid references, those grid references are based on the Universal Transverse Mercator Grid system set out on the National Topographic Series Map, Scale 1:50,000 published by the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources.  (North American Datum 1983)

PSP results from shellfish that contain naturally occurring toxins.  These toxins are derived from planktonic organisms called dinoflagellates.  When the right conditions are present (water temperature, salinity, weather patterns, nutrient requirements, etc.), levels of concentration can increase.

Bivalve molluscs are shellfish with two shells, and include: oysters, clams (soft shell clams, razor clams, surf clams), scallops, mussels, and quahogs (bay and ocean) and whelks.