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Frank Meriwether: Keeping Washington's beaches and shellfish safe

Frank Meriwether standing near a tank at the LOTT sewage treatment plant in Olympia. Sewage is just one of many possible causes of shellfish contamination.

Shellfish from Washington waters - clams, mussels, oysters, geoduck, scallops - are enduring symbols of our state. And whether they are gathered by your family on a weekend outing, by a large commercial harvester, a farming operation or by tribal groups, Frank Meriwether helps make sure they are safe for you to eat.

Meriwether, an environmental engineer with the Department of Health’s Food Safety and Shellfish Program, monitors Washington beaches where shellfish grow. Water samples are collected each day from beaches in the Puget Sound, Grays Harbor, Hood Canal, Willapa Bay and the Pacific coast and tested for unsafe conditions.

When beaches test positive for contamination – like paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP or red tide) or for high levels of fecal coliform – the Department of Health works with other agencies like the Department of Fish & Wildlife or local tribes to close those areas to all shellfish harvesting.

Once the source of the pollution has been discovered, Meriwether helps make certain that further contamination is stopped. This can include working a range of different organizations from large businesses or public agencies to a handful of residents with a small septic system.

The Shellfish Program also monitors safety and cleanliness at all shellfish processing plants. Because much of our state’s commercial shellfish harvest is exported to other states and other countries, our Shellfish Program helps protect consumers all over the world.

The program keeps an up-to-date web site that gives the latest beach conditions for recreational, commercial and tribal harvesters.

Meriwether, a native Olympian, has been with the Department of Health since 1990.

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Last Update : 02/08/2008 03:09 PM
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