Weekend clam report: CT & Long Island shellfish, Oct 31-Nov 1, 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 back to the weekend clam report from Sound Clam Status: what's posted on both sides of Long Island Sound, plus the weekend's low tides.

The short version: Fairfield's status page switched from "closed" to "open" this week, the first posted "open" we've seen. Nothing else moved, and it's been a dry week with a sunny weekend ahead, so rain closures aren't in play. Still call before you go.

Connecticut

• Fairfield (203-256-3074): the town's status image changed from CLOSED to OPEN between our 6 AM and 2 PM checks on Wednesday, Oct 28. The image itself isn't dated, but the town says it updates the page within about an hour of the State's announcement. Call to confirm before you rake Sasco Hill Beach.
• Greenwich (203-622-7777): no change. The status page is still dated June 1, 2026. It lists Areas A and B as closed for end of season with an expected re-opening of "Nov 2026", Areas D and E under an administrative closure, and its Area C entry shows both "Closed" and "Open", so treat it as unknown. Call.
• Madison (203-245-5600 ext. 3): no change. The last update is still dated Aug 20, 2026: Area A listed under Approved Areas, and Areas B, C and the Madison part of Outer Clinton Harbor closed. That's more than two months old, so it isn't a current "posted open". 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).
• Prohibited: the CT Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Aquaculture confirmed to us on Oct 29 that recreational shellfishing is prohibited in all town waters of Stamford, Bridgeport, Stratford, West Haven, New Haven, East Haven, Westbrook, Old Saybrook, Old Lyme and New London.

Long Island's North Shore (NY)

Oyster Bay, Huntington, Smithtown, Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southold have no online bed-by-bed status. When we checked Friday afternoon, DEC's temporary closures page listed no temporary closures in effect in Nassau or Suffolk; the last rain closures, from the Sept 25–28 storm, were all lifted by Oct 9. Harvest only in DEC-certified areas 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.

This week: the National Weather Service recorded no measurable rain at the Bridgeport, New Haven and Groton–New London airports, or at LaGuardia and Islip, from Oct 21 through Oct 29. Friday has been dry, and the forecast is sunny and dry through Monday, so no rain trigger is close.

What changed since last week

• Fairfield: the status image went from CLOSED (last week) to OPEN (since Oct 28).
• Greenwich and Madison: no change. Same June 1 and Aug 20 pages.
• New York: no temporary closures listed by DEC.
• New on the site: Connecticut towns where recreational shellfishing is prohibited (listed above) now say exactly that on their pages, per the Bureau of Aquaculture, and North Hempstead (NY) has its own page.

Dates coming up

• Sunday, Nov 1: clocks fall back an hour at 2 AM. Sunset moves from about 5:45–5:50 PM Saturday to about 4:45 PM Sunday along the CT shore.
• Sunday, Nov 1: in New York, areas DEC lists as "seasonally uncertified May 1 through October 31" go back to certified for the winter. That includes parts of Port Jefferson Harbor and Cold Spring Harbor added to that list in June. Check the DEC mapper for exact lines.
• 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 9:51 AM and 10:41 PM, Sunday 9:59 AM and 10:46 PM. The morning lows are about 0.7 ft (Saturday) and 0.9 ft (Sunday).
• New London, CT: Saturday 8:10 AM and 9:10 PM, Sunday 8:18 AM and 9:10 PM. The morning lows are about 0.5 ft.

Sunday's times are already on standard time. Times shift a bit harbor to harbor. Many towns ban harvesting from sunset to sunrise, so this weekend's evening lows are out, and the mid-morning lows are the ones to plan around. Tide stations are reference points only: recreational shellfishing is prohibited in all town waters of Bridgeport and New London.

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.