Weekend clam report: CT & Long Island shellfish, Oct 24-25, 2026

Always call the town hotline before you go. Bed status changes after rain and for other public-health reasons, and the hotline (not this page) is the authoritative answer.

Hi, and welcome to the first weekend clam report from Sound Clam Status. Every Thursday you'll get a quick look at what's posted on both sides of Long Island Sound, plus the weekend's low tides.

The short version: no bed on either shore has a fresh "posted open" right now. Every town's hotline is the answer this weekend, so call before you go.

Connecticut

• Greenwich (203-622-7777): the town's status page is dated June 1, 2026. It lists Areas A and B as closed for end of season and Areas D and E under an administrative closure, and its Area C entry shows both "Closed" and "Open", so treat it as unknown. The town says its recreational beds open mid-October through May, so the page may simply be behind. Call.
• Madison (203-245-5600 ext. 3): the last update, dated Aug 20, 2026, listed Area A under Approved Areas and Areas B, C and the Madison part of Outer Clinton Harbor as closed. That's two months old, so it isn't a current "posted open". Call.
• Fairfield (203-256-3074): the town's last posted image (undated) shows the Sasco Hill Beach bed closed. Call.
• Phone-only towns, where there's no status page to read: Darien, Norwalk and Westport (shared line 203-838-9807), Milford (203-874-0696), Branford (203-315-0678), Guilford (203-453-8088), Clinton (860-664-6444), Niantic River for Waterford and East Lyme (860-444-5812), Groton (860-441-6793) and Stonington (860-599-7575).

Long Island's North Shore (NY)

Oyster Bay, Huntington, Smithtown, Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southold have no online bed-by-bed status. Harvest only in DEC-certified areas, check the DEC temporary closures page, and call the DEC closure line at 631-444-0480 (updated after 4 PM).

Why beds close

Most closures here are rain closures on "conditional" beds. In Greenwich, Fairfield, Groton and the Niantic River, more than about 1½ inches of rain in 24 hours closes conditional areas, typically for 7 to 8 days. Darien and Madison's Area C use a 3-inch trigger, and Norwalk, Darien and Westport go by the Norwalk Health Department's rain gauge. In New York, DEC closes areas after more than 3 inches in 24 to 36 hours (less in warm months), for at least 3 days.

What changed since last week

This is our first issue, so there's no week-over-week comparison yet. Starting next Thursday you'll see what moved.

Dates coming up

• Nov 2 (first Monday in November): New York's state bay scallop season opens. Town rules may add limits.
• Nov 15: Niantic River scallop season opens (runs to Jan 31, 8 AM to 4 PM).
• Nov 30: Fairfield's online permit store shows current permits running through 11/30/2026, so check your renewal.

Weekend low tides (NOAA predictions)

• Bridgeport, CT: Saturday 4:06 AM and 4:40 PM, Sunday 4:48 AM and 5:25 PM. The afternoon lows are the lowest of the weekend (around 0 and -0.3 ft).
• New London, CT: Saturday 2:20 AM and 3:04 PM, Sunday 3:01 AM and 3:50 PM.

Times shift a bit harbor to harbor. Many towns ban harvesting from sunset to sunrise, so the early-morning lows are out, and Sunday's late-afternoon low at Bridgeport cuts close to dark.

Before you go: always call the town or state hotline before you harvest. We report what official pages say; the hotline is the only authoritative answer.

Every town's hotline, rules, limits and permit info, one tap away: soundclamstatus.com

See you on the flats,
Sound Clam Status

Not affiliated with the State of Connecticut or New York State.