DEPT. OF MARINE RESOURCES

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• Municipal Shellfish
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Public Health - Shellfish Program

     

The Bureau of Public Health oversees the application of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) within the State of Maine. This program is implemented internationally by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) in order to keep molluscan shellfish safe for human consumption.  This is accomplished by making sure that a common set of standards are used to classify shellfish growing areas and handle shellfish when they go to market.

Some of the links below are PDF files, and require Adobe Acrobat or the free Adobe Reader (download here).  If you require an alternate format, please contact Michelle Mason Webber.

News

• The DMR Bureau of Public Health Biotoxin Program plans to upgrade testing techniques to a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for most species of bivalve shellfish (clams, mussels, oysters etc). The program is also considering changes to its sampling strategy including creating regional mussel closures during the height of the biotoxin season and maintaining exception areas for wild and recreational mussel harvest.
  

  For more information, please contact Alison Sirois at 633-9401 or Meggan Dwyer.

New forms for the 2013 Biotoxin samping season include PSP Sample Protocol (140 KB, pdf) and Field Sheet (12 KB, pdf) .

• Shellfish Program Newsletters

Programs

• Marine Biotoxin Monitoring - monitors levels of PSP (“Red Tide”) and other marine biotoxins in Maine shellfish
• Shellfish Dealer Certification and Inspection - evaluates and certifies Maine wholesale shellfish dealers
• Shellfish Growing Area Classification - monitors the water quality at Maine shellfish flats and conducts shoreline surveys to identify sources of pollution
• Municipal Shellfish Management - assists towns in managing their flats and shellfish.  Area biologists help towns with their conservation areas, reseeding, surveying, town license allocations, shellfish ordinances, warden programs, and more.
• Volunteer Programs - water quality and phytoplankton monitoring

Forms

• Municipal Shellfish Management Forms
• Shellfish Dealer Forms

Presentations and Outreach Information

• Shellfish laws and regulations as of January 2013 - pdf file, 197 pages, 1.07 MB
• Letter to Coastal Town Managers regarding shellfish Growing Areas Classification Program dated 11/09/09 - pdf file, 20 kb
• Current shellfish area closures c/o the Maine Red Tide and Shellfish Sanitation Hotline - 1-800-232-4733 (same link as hotline button above)
• Volunteer brochure (2 pages, 279 KB)
• Certification of clam rings/pails
• Shellfish handling, tagging, and labeling - pdf file, 2.2 Mb
• Current beach swimming advisories
• Current fish consumption advisories
• Current shellfish consumption advisory

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