Welcome to Skagit County
April 26th, 2011
Samish Bay closed to shellfish harvest due to high fecal coliform counts
SKAGIT COUNTY - The Washington
State Department of Health has closed Samish Bay for commercial and recreational
shellfish harvest due to high fecal coliform bacteria levels. The State Department
of Health has specific water quality criteria for Samish Bay to ensure harvested
shellfish are safe to eat.
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, current
status of the bay (open or closed for harvest) and 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