• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

4 Shellfish Farm Areas Still Threatened With Closure: Drayton Harbor and Birch Bay Remain on List

Posted on: Tuesday, 23 May 2006, 16:56 CDT

By Katie N Johannes, The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Wash.

May 22--Four commercial shellfish farming areas in Whatcom and Skagit counties are among the 23 areas barely within state pollution limits, according to an annual report announced Thursday.

The areas, listed by the Washington state Department of Health as threatened with closure, include Birch Bay, Drayton Harbor, Portage Bay and Samish Bay.

All of the areas have been listed previously, said Bob Woolrich, food safety and shellfish program manager for the state Department of Health.

Drayton Harbor is among the areas that have been closed until recent years.

Improvement in regional environmental practices has improved water quality enough to open the Drayton Harbor area, Woolrich said.

Fecal waste from human sewage, farm animals and wildlife are the dominant sources of pollution, he said.

Washington is the nation's leading producer of farmed oysters, clams and mussels, according to a news release.

A map of threatened shellfish areas is at www.doh.wa.gov/ ehp/sf/pubs/threatareas05.pdf.

Reach Katie N. Johannes at katie.johannes@bellinghamherald .com or call 756-2805.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Wash.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Bellingham Herald, Wash.

More News in this Category