PROVIDENCE -The Department of Environmental Management has announced that the Greenwich Bay Shellfish Management Area will be open for shellfishing from 8 a.m. to noon on Thursday, December 23. The special opening is being enacted to help shellfishermen, who have lost two days of work this week, during a time when consumer demand for shellfish is traditionally high.

Normally, shellfishing areas are open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the winter season. However, the Greenwich Bay Management Area had been closed this week because of last week's rain.

The 1999-2000 winter shellfishing season is open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through April 30^th, barring rain events. Shellfish harvesting is allowed in the Greenwich Bay Management Area, Bristol Harbor Shellfish Transplant Area, Bissel Cove/Fox Island Transplant Area, and Potowomut Shellfish Management Area, whenever those areas are open, including the three state holidays that occur during the winter season.