On Wednesday, March 24, 2010, the Maine Department of Marine Resources issued its first clam flat closure of the 2010 season. The closure comes a month earlier than usual, as it’s typically open to the end of April. According to an article by Susan Morse of Seacoast Online:

“I don’t think it will be too much longer that we’ll have additional closures for mussels,” said Darcie Couture, director of the Biotoxin Monitoring Program for the state. “It’s lining up to be a very bad year.”

Couture blames the early closure on the unusually warm weather this year. The article relates that the department

banned the harvesting of surf and hen clams, which are bigger than the traditional steamers, in certain coastal areas such as Harpswell. The state also closed the harvesting of mussels in Brunswick and of carnivorous snails in some areas.

Additionally, due to high bacteria counts caused by flooding, the York flats are closed for digging steamers. State test were scheduled to confirm or deny the reopening of the flats for Sunday. The flats were only planned to be open through April 25, 2010.

To read the full article, [1] click here.