Connecticut State Council on Environmental Quality

2025 CEQ Annual Report


Water


Rivers, Lakes, and Estuaries                Water of Long Island Sound               Warming and Rising Waters               Swimming                Drinking Water 

Clamming and Oystering

Image of the sun, earth and a thermometer that identifies indicators that are affected by a warmer climate or those that affect the climate.

Summary symbol key that indicates indicator improved from previous year's report, improved from previous ten-year average, and is on track to meet goal.

 

The acreage of shellfish growing areas that are designated as “restricted”, which includes: “prohibited”, “restricted relay”, and “conditionally restricted relay” was about three (3) percent less than the previous year and five (5) percent less than the previous ten-year average. 

 


Changes in the classification of shellfish growing areas are usually related to improvement or decline in water quality, based upon the results of water quality monitoring and/or updated sanitary survey findings.44  The Connecticut Department of Agriculture's (DoAG) Bureau of Aquaculture (BoA) monitors water quality and classifies shellfish growing areas according to their potential for yielding healthful, uncontaminated shellfish. There is a total of approximately 390,000 acres of shellfish beds managed by the BoA.

Water quality assessment criteria for shellfishing as a designated use only applies to inner-shore, and mid-shore estuarine waters where shellfish growth is viable, which is approximately 50 percent of Connecticut’s estuarine waters. According to the 2024 Integrated Water Quality Report**, the total area for shellfish harvesting from SA waters (suitable for direct consumption) remained unchanged from the 2022 report (49.4 square miles (M2)), which represents about 20 percent of the assessed estuarine area, while shellfish harvesting from SB waters (requires depuration) decreased by two (2) percent (34.3 M2) from the 2022 report.45  

Goal: The goal for marine shellfishing is to “upgrade 5 percent of the acreage restricted or closed for shellfishing in 2014 by 2035”.46  The “restricted or closed” acreage in 2014 totaled 167,264 acres, which included areas designated by DoAG as “prohibited”, “restricted relay”, and “conditionally restricted relay”. Therefore, the goal is a reduction of restricted or closed acreage to 158,901 acres by 2035, shown on the chart as a gold horizontal line. 

 

Technical Note: *The vertical axis in the chart above has been shortened, beginning at 100,000 acres rather than the customary zero. **SA waters allow shellfish harvesting for direct human consumption where authorized, whereas SB waters allow shellfish harvesting with depuration or relay where authorized. Depuration is the action or process of freeing something of impurities. In the case of shellfish, this usually means moving the shellfish to areas with better water quality.

 

 

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44 DoAg, Bureau of Aquaculture, personal communication with M. Zuber, January 12, 2026.
45 DEEP, Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse, 2024 Final Integrated Water Quality Report, accessed January 14, 2026; portal.ct.gov/-/media/deep/water/water_quality_management/305b/2024/final-2024-iwqr.pdf.

46 Long Island Sound Study, Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, 2015; longislandsoundstudy.net/2015/09/2015-comprehensive-conservation-and-management-plan/.