Welcome to Skagit County
July 18th, 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 consequent 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. Based on water quality monitoring samples,
the recent rain event resulted 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. Samish Bay is also currently closed
to recreational harvest of varnish clams due to Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning.
When the bay is closed,
shellfish farms can't harvest crops and it is unsafe to consume shellfish recreationally
harvested from the bay during the closure. Throughout the closure, however,
local shellfish farms may have shellfish for sale that have been harvested prior
to the closure or brought in from growing areas elsewhere in the state; these
shellfish are safe to eat.
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
- Pet waste that is not collected and disposed of properly
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), a calendar of Samish bay shellfish
bed closures to date, or to report a water quality problem, visit www.skagitcounty.net/cleanwater.
For more information, contact Emma Whitfield at emmaw@co.skagit.wa.us
or at (360) 419-7667