The total area of local waters condemned to shellfish harvesting crept up slightly in the past year, according to July 1 figures from the Virginia Division of Shellfish Sanitation. At the same time, some waterways are cleaner this year than they were at the midpoint of 2014.

The grand total of condemned acreage for Gloucester and Mathews county waterways, including those shared with adjacent counties, is 4,832.4. The figure for 2014 was 4,744 acres.

By county

Gloucester registered 2,059.4 condemned acres, nearly the same as in 2014 when the figure was 2,063 acres, according to the state. More than 90 acres of the Ware River previously closed to oystering were opened, making up for slight increases in other bodies of water.

Mathews had a total of 1,115.3 condemned acres, a sharp increase from the 2014 total of 933.5 acres. The largest jump, nearly 100 acres, was in East River. Put-In Creek also registered an increase of 20 acres, and Billups Creek, 16 acres.

In the North River, sha...