According to an article in the Boston Globe, shellfish harvested from some of Boston Harbor’s surrounding bays and coves can now be consumed without having to be purified or cooked, barring heavy rainfall or other events that could flush contaminants into the harbor.

The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries recently ruled that Winthrop, Hingham, and Hull could allow both recreational and commercial harvesting of wild oysters and other bivalves in certain areas for direct human consumption. This means that shellfish licenses can be issued to the general public by these towns.

Oyster harvesting has not been allowed in Boston Harbor since 1925. The recent reopening of shellfish beds speaks to the remarkable cleanup of Boston Harbor, once among the most polluted waterbodies in the country, which began in the mid-1980s.