Our mission is to protect the habitat of Puget Sound tidelands from the underregulated expansion of new and intensive shellfish aquaculture methods. These methods were never anticipated when the Shoreline Management Act was passed. They are transforming the natural tideland ecosystems in Puget Sound and are resulting in a fractured shoreline habitat. In South Puget Sound much of this has been done with few if any meaningful shoreline permits and with limited public input. It is exactly what the Shoreline Management Act was intended to prevent.

Get involved and contact your elected officials to let them you do not support aquaculture's industrial transformation of Puget Sound's tidelands.

Governor Inslee:

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Vibrio Closure/Re-opening in South Puget Sound

Closures/re-openings of south Puget Sound growing areas
to commercial harvesting of oysters continues.

Closures to commercial harvesting of oysters
due to Vibrio parahaemolytius, as of 8/16. 

As a result of sampling for the naturally occurring bacterium Vibrio parahaemolytius the Department of Health has closed Hammersley Inlet. This is now the second time Hammersley Inlet has been closed due to elevated levels of Vp, the first being in mid-July when levels of the naturally occurring bacterium caused both Totten Inlet and Hammersley Inlet to be closed. It had been re-opened for a short time.

After the mid-July closure, Totten Inlet was re-opened July 31 but then closed again on August 7 due to illnesses reported from oysters harvested in that area.  As a result of closer analysis, the number of illnesses reported was apparently incorrect so it has been re-opened, with stricter cooling times in place.

It remains to be seen whether the minus tides and warmer than normal temperatures last week will result in additional closures.  The combination creates an environment which results in an increase of naturally occurring bacteria, something felt to be an increasing probability. DOH suggested to shellfish growers they "make good decisions" if they were planning on harvesting. DOH suggests consumers not eat raw oysters during the summer months [for recreational harvesting click here for DOH web site].

No comments:

Post a Comment