Marking the end of a 35-year state ban and years of restoration work, recreational shellfish beds have reopened in Clinton—for a limited time.

Shellfish Commission Chairman Wayne Church said that the beds officially opened on April 1 following a lengthy approval process. The beds will close on April 30, then reopen from Dec. 1 to the 30. Church said that in 2020 the beds will be open from Jan. 1 through April 30, then reopen again in December.

According to Church, the approved area extends “south from a line drawn from Clinton Town Beach Rock Jetty Shellfish Marker due west to the southern edge of Clinton Harbor Channel to the red buoy marking the Clinton Harbor Entrance to the Shellfish marker on Hammock Point.”

Reopening the beds has been a lengthy process that has stretched across nearly 15 years.

“In Clinton, since 2004, we’ve tried to establish a good balance between commercial and recreational shell fishing and now, we have it,” said Church.

Clinton’s shellfish beds were the source of regionally famous oysters, but during the ‘90s the oysters began succumbing to disease. Pollution also affected the beds’ ability to grow edible shellfish.

Church said that significant damage to the shoreline during Tropical Storm Irene and Superstorm Sandy contributed to the time it took open the beds. As part of the process of opening the beds, periodic water and oyster samples were required to be sent to the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Aquaculture (DABA). In September 2018, DABA representatives presented the results of the surveys that cleared the way for the beds to open.

Shellfishing licenses are available through the commission and town clerk’s office. For a resident, the cost is $25 or $15 for seniors or those in military service. For nonresidents, the cost is $75 and $65 for non-resident senior or military members. A driver’s license or other proof of residency is required.

Church called the opening of the beds a historic day for Clinton, and said that the initial response to the announcement surprised him.

“We had people asking the clerk for licenses the very first day. It’s unbelievably exciting,” Church said.

“We have the best tasting shellfish in the world in my opinion,” Church added.

More information and maps are available at clintonshellfish.org.