Welcome to Skagit County
May 9th, 2011
Samish Bay closed to shellfish harvest due to presumed high fecal coliform bacteria counts
SKAGIT COUNTY - The Washington
State Department of Health has temporarily closed Samish Bay for commercial
and recreational shellfish harvest due to the 100 cubic feet per second rise
in the river level and anticipated fecal coliform bacteria levels. The bay was
closed on May 7, 2011 and is anticipated to reopen on May 12, 2011; the closure
was confirmed by samples taken Saturday, May 7, 2011.
The State Department of Health has specific water quality criteria for Samish
Bay to ensure harvested shellfish are safe to eat. Based on historic water quality
monitoring, the recent rain event is expected to result in fecal coliform bacteria
exceeding these criteria. The bay will remain closed to shellfish harvest until
sampling verifies the pollution from the rain event has abated.
When the bay is closed, shellfish farms can't harvest crops and it is unsafe
to consume shellfish recreationally harvested from the bay. Farms may have safe
shellfish for sale during the closure that were either harvested prior to the
closure or brought in from growing areas elsewhere in the state.
The major sources of polluting bacteria in the Samish River watershed are:
- Residential and business
onsite septic systems
- Various small and commercial
farming operations with livestock
- Farming operations that
spread animal manure as fertilizer
- Human recreational activities
including boating, hunting, fishing, and hiking
- Marine live-aboard boats
- Waterfowl attracted to
fields planted in grain
- Mishandled pet waste
All of these sources, if
managed properly, need not pose a threat to water quality.
For more information on clean water efforts in the Samish Watershed, and for
a calendar of Samish Bay shellfish bed closures to date, visit www.skagitcounty.net/cleanwater.
For more information, contact Emma Whitfield at emmaw@co.skagit.wa.us
or at (360) 419-7667.