Boston Harbor to Reopen Shellfishing Areas in 2026

The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) is set to reclassify certain areas of the Boston Harbor as Conditionally Approved, enabling direct human consumption shellfishing for the first time in more than a century.

According to a DMF news release, these areas include some of the most productive shellfish habitats in the Commonwealth in parts of Winthrop, Hingham, and Hull. The reclassification of these areas will allow commercial and recreational shellfishers to harvest shellfish for their personal use or direct sale into commerce for the first time in more than 100 years. 

The DMF stated that while some areas of the harbor have been harvested over the years on a limited basis, the product, soft-shelled clams, was required to be sent to DMF's shellfish depuration plant in Newburyport. There, the clams were purified before being sent to market.

While the depuration process enables shellfish to be safely consumed, the procedure is expensive, labor-intensive, and limited only to a few specially trained and certified commercial harvesters.

Although the DMF's analysis has concluded that large areas of the Outer Harbor are clean enough to be reclassified for direct harvest, the timing of the reopening requires additional collaboration with area municipalities. Massachusetts, being a home-rule state, requires local governments to craft local management plans, set enforceable rules and a permitting system, and appoint a Shellfish Constable to oversee enforcement before openings.

As noted in the DMF release, since shellfish are filter feeders, maintaining high water quality is essential for safe direct-consumption harvesting. 

"As such, reopening these areas to shellfishing is one of the strongest indicators yet that the decades-long Boston Harbor cleanup was a success," stated Gloucester Regional Shellfish Supervisor Wayne Castonguay. "We hope this trend continues and we can reopen additional areas of Greater Boston Harbor in the future."