Haverhill sewage leak impacts the North Shore shellfish industry

Last week’s sewage leak in Haverhill into the Merrimack River caused issues like no-swimming orders at beaches from Salisbury to Ipswich, but it’s having an even bigger impact on the shellfish industry.

Despite the leak being contained as of Wednesday, shellfish harvesting areas from Salisbury down the coast to Gloucester and Rockport remain closed.

“It’s just a shame that something like this happened... sewer leakage, this is a whole new animal,” Travis Kneeland, Rowley’s Shellfish Constable, said.

On Monday, Kneeland said he notified clammers they’re closed to digging, harvesting, or collecting shellfish until further notice, after receiving a letter from Massachusetts’ Division of Marine Fisheries.

“This is one of the biggest weeks of the year for these guys,” Kneeland said.

Kneeland said the Fourth of July is one of the major holidays when it comes to seafood.

“It’s a huge, huge, huge blow to the hundreds of guys from Newbury, Newburyport all the way to Rockport,” Kneeland said.

Local clammers and shellfish companies are likely losing hundreds to thousands of dollars each day harvesting remains closed, according to Kneeland. He adds the ripple effect will lead straight to consumers.

“When you pull a major producer like the North Shore out of the game, it causes more demand, more demand means higher price, higher price means the consumer pays more when they sit down at a restaurant,” Kneeland said.

It’s an impact he said we could start seeing in the coming days.

“They might think twice about buying seafood because it might spike that high,” Kneeland said.

As far as whether it’s safe to eat shellfish from local restaurants and markets, Governor Maura Healey’s office said any shellfish currently being served or sold were not impacted.

“As soon as we get the clear, we’re going to open those shellfish beds right back up because we want people to be able to be out there harvesting, clamming, you know, we know our restaurants depend on this as well,” Healey said during a press conference on Tuesday.

Kneeland said restaurants and markets are now likely sourcing their shellfish from areas like Cape Cod, Maine, or Canada. In the meantime, he said it’s a waiting game for harvesters.

“We’re just at the mercy of what’s going on, who’s going to handle it, how it’s going to be handled,” Kneeland said.

According to the Division of Marine Fisheries, it can begin testing to reopen shellfish growing areas seven days after the sewage overflow is contained.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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