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For immediate release: August 16, 2005 (05-105)
Contacts:
Bob Woolrich, Shellfish program
360-236-3329
Deanna Whitman, Communications
Office 360-236-4022
Shellfish harvesting in parts of Annas Bay, Hood Canal, closed from contamination
OLYMPIA ¾ The Washington State Department of Health is closing commercial shellfish harvesting in a part of Annas Bay, located near the Great Bend in Hood Canal, because of fecal contamination in the water. About 300 acres of tidelands on the east side of Annas Bay, between the mouth of the Skokomish River and Union in Mason County, are being closed on August 18.
Annas Bay is one of the largest commercial oyster and clam harvesting areas in Hood Canal. The nearby Potlatch State Park tidelands are not affected by this closure. Potential sources of the fecal contamination include wildlife, agricultural practices and sewage.
Annas Bay has been on the Department of Health’s annual list of threatened shellfish areas for several years. Now this area does not meet the state and federal water quality standards for a commercial shellfish harvesting.
"Over the past 10 years, restoration efforts have opened about 10,000 acres of previously closed commercial shellfish, but we are still losing pieces of some valuable areas, such as Annas Bay," said Nancy Napolilli, director of the Department of Health’s Office of Food Safety and Shellfish.
A restoration project will begin involving watershed residents, state, local and tribal government. Restoration of closed and threatened shellfish growing areas is a priority identified in the 2005-2007 Puget Sound Conservation and Recovery Plan (www.psat.wa.gov/plan). More information on the shellfish protection effort is available on the Puget Sound Action Team’s Web site (www.psat.wa.gov/shellfish).
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