The Town of Mattapoisett shows an area of Mattapoisett called "BB 21" or Buzzards Bay area 21 as open to shellfishing .The location is also known to the locals as Howard and Leisure Shores Beach . The town has somehow declared this area closed because of the 2003 oil spill now "open".

The state on its website show the area closed because of the oil spill in its last update in 2004 . The state officials refuse to comment on wether the shellfish are safe to eat only to say they may taste like old rubber tires and you wouldn't want them anyway !

Note: Much of the information on this page was based on data kindly provided by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.

Closure Summary Information
This page consists of summary information on the 2003 Bouchard oil spill prepared by the Buzzards Bay NEP based on our own independent calculations. The maps below, and the reported acreage closed are approximate, and do not include bans due to bacterial contamination. Most closed areas relating to the Bouchard No. 120 were rescinded by October 15, 2004. On that date, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries rescinded all closures, except for for small portions of the Mattapoisett, Fairhaven, and Dartmouth.[Click this link to read DMF's 10/15/2004 Announcement.] These areas, totaling approximately 273 acres, remained closed through April 2007. By May 2009, DMF reported to us that 135 acres of shellfish beds remained closed that were related to the oil spill (129 acres in Fairhaven and 6 acres in Mattapoisett at Leisure Shores), although we have seen other agencies and press articles quote different estimates.

http://www.buzzardsbay.org/shellfishimpacts.h...