Taylor Shellfish Tour in Quilcene on Saturday – noon to 2PM.

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Al B.

I was given a tour of the facility as part of an interview done for the Jefferson County Marine Resource Committee. If you have any interest in finding out how shellfish are raised here in the Salish Sea, this is a good place to start. It would be a great short day for either pre-teens or teens to see. And it’s a beautiful beach. The drive down is pretty good also.

You can see a bit of the facility on the first interview on the video I did for the MRC>
https://vimeo.com/53916496

Shellfish farm tours

QUILCENE — Public tours of Taylor Shellfish Farms’ hatchery, 701 Broad Spit Road, will be offered from noon to 1 p.m. today, with a beach tour from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Attendees should arrive between 10 to 15 minutes early.

Taylor Shellfish Farm spawn clams, mussels, oysters and geoduck, with larvae planted at beaches around Hood Canal and Puget Sound.

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Acidifying Water Takes Toll On Northwest Shellfish – Earthfix

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Al B.

Thanks to Earthfix for doing a good job on reporting on this.

“Rescuing shellfish from the rising acidity in Puget Sound will require a wide-ranging response: Everything from curbing greenhouse gases and controlling water pollution to growing more seaweed and putting restaurant-discarded oyster shells into shallow bays.”

Ashley Ahearn, Katie Campbell and David Steves report.

http://earthfix.kuow.org/water/article/acid-water-take-toll-on-puget-sound-shellfish/

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On Dabob Bay, man and nature nurture preservation – Seattle Times

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Al B.

Nice overview of the environmental story in Dabob Bay, reported by Ron Judd, with quotes from local environmental leader Peter Bahl, Chris Davis of the Nature Conservancy and Taylor Shellfish’s Bill Dewey.

I love Dabob Bay, it represents one of the few nearly pristine bays on the Salish Sea. (I disagree with Mr. Judd that it’s in “Puget Sound”, as most of us who have lived and sailed here for a long time, know that Hood Canal has always been considered a separate body of water from Puget Sound, as are the Straits. That’s why the naming of the Salish Sea was added). The bay is wonderfully quiet, and little of the houses can be seen from shore, giving the look of almost wilderness to it.

“Few places in the Northwest boast the odd mix of ingredients — man, mollusk, mammal and military — found in the deep mixing bowl that is Dabob Bay.”

Read the whole story at:
http://seattletimes.com/html/pacificnw/2019630870_pacificpdabob18.html

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Some beaches open for shellfish – PDN

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Al B.

Ok to do some shellfish harvesting.

Port Townsend Bay, Oak Bay, Admiralty Inlet and North Hood Canal have reopened for recreational shellfishing. Levels of the marine biotoxin that causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, or PSP, are now below the recreational closure level for these four areas, the Jefferson County Public Health announced Friday. Other beaches in Jefferson County — and all beaches in Clallam County — remain closed because of marine biotoxin levels or pollution. Kilisut Harbor, including Mystery Bay, remains closed to butter clams only.

Read the rest of the story at:
http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20121111/news/311119990/some-beaches-open-for-shellfish

Support local news: Subscribe to the PDN.

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DSP shellfish closure extends to Seabeck – Kitsap Sun

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Al B.

Shellfish closures extend down Hood Canal. An emerging shellfish toxin, diarrhetic shellfish poison, has resulted in an expanding closure area in central Hood Canal — with the latest closure covering shellfish beaches in the Seabeck area.

Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/oct/22/dsp-shellfish-closure-extends-to-seabeck/

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Hood Canal beaches reopen to recreational shellfish harvesting – PDN and others Hood Canal beaches reopen to recreational shellfish harvesting

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Al B.

Hood Canal from Seal Rock south to the Mason County line has reopened for recreational shellfishing. Levels of the marine biotoxin that causes diarrhetic shellfish poisoning — or DSP — are currently below the recreational closure level, according to the Jefferson County Public Health Department. Many of East Jefferson County beaches were closed in July because of elevated levels of DSP as well as the more potentially serious paralytic shellfish poisoning — or PSP. Many remain closed by the state Department of Health because of marine biotoxin levels, with PSP the primary biotoxin of concern.

http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120916/news/309169996/hood-canal-beaches-reopen-to-recreational-shellfish-harvesting

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Hood Canal Shellfish Closed Due To Vibrio – State of WA

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Al B.

If you have purchased or dug shellfish on Hood Canal in the last few days, you might want to consider this news.

Hood Canal 5 growing area is closed effective immediately because of a Vibrio parahaemolyticus-associated illness outbreak involving six unrelated people. According to the Model Ordinance Chapter II, when a
growing area is closed for naturally-occurring pathogens, a recall must be initiated; the recall will apply to all oyster product harvested on and after August 16, 2012. All growers in Hood Canal 5 will be
contacted telephonically with details. The growing area may be reopened when it is determined that the naturally-occurring pathogen is no longer a risk to public health. If you have any questions, please contact Richard G. Lillie, MPH State Standardization Officer at 360.236.3313 or via email, or Cari Franz-West at 360.236.3326. Questions about the recall may be addressed to Frank Cox at
360.236.3309.

Filed under: Clams, Hood Canal, Olympic Peninsula, Oysters, Shellfish, Vibro | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

‘Red tide’ closure for shellfish harvesting expands – Kitsap Sun

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Al B.

Marine biotoxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), also known as “red tide,” have been detected in high levels in shellfish samples from north Hood Canal. As a result, the Washington State Department of Health and the Kitsap Public Health District have closed recreational shellfish harvesting in north Hood Canal from Foulweather Bluff south to the Hood Canal bridge, including all bays and inlets, for all species of clams, oysters and mussels. An existing PSP closure for all species of shellfish remains in effect on the eastern shoreline of Kitsap County from Foulweather Bluff south to the Pierce County line.

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/aug/15/red-tide-closure-for-shellfish-harvesting/

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Huffington Post Video on Taylor Shellfish

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Al B.

While we support Taylor shellfish by eating their products, and it is worth reminding folks that they actively support clean water environmental initiatives, this seems to be part of a larger PR campaign to defang the opposition to the expansion of the shellfish industry in the South Sound.

A 4th Generation Oyster Fisherman, and Early Ties to the Oyster Industry (VIDEO) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rebecca-gerendasy/a-4th-generation-oyster-f_b_1706782.html

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New Shellfish Toxin discovered in Hood Canal

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Al B.

Chris Dunagan reports on DSP found in Central Hood Canal.

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UPDATE: Penn Cove derelict vessel burns and sinks

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Al B.

No matter the cost, the 128-foot crab boat that caught fire and then sank in Penn Cove this weekend will be raised and removed, according to officials with the state Department of Natural Resources.

Toni Droscher, spokeswoman for the agency, confirmed that the huge steel fishing vessel is not too big to pluck from the bottom, but it will be expensive and it’s a cost that will initially be borne by taxpayers.

“We will get that boat out of there,” Droscher said. “We have to protect the resource.”

The Deep Sea, which has been illegally anchored in Penn Cove for months, caught fire late Saturday evening. The blaze raged unchecked for about two hours before fireboats from Camano Island Fire and Rescue and the U.S Coast Guard arrived and began hitting the vessel with water.

Flames on deck had largely been extinguished by 2:30 a.m. Sunday but fires continued to burn below. Fire fighting efforts had to be temporarily suspended due to fear of the boat sinking but resumed again at daylight.

At about 6 p.m., about 19 hours after it first caught fire, the vessel finally succumbed and sank in about 60 feet of water just outside Penn Cove Shellfish’s mussel rafts.

http://www.southwhidbeyrecord.com/news/151598885.html

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Scientists Discover Novel Way to Detect Low Level Exposure to Seafood Toxin

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Al B.

NOAA Scientists Discover Novel Way to Detect Low Level Exposure to Seafood Toxin: Students at Northwest Indian College Learn How to Conduct Tests. Martha Baskin reports on Green Acre Radio.

NOAA scientists have found a novel way to detect low level exposure to a seafood toxin in marine mammals. While high level exposure has long presented a significant health threat, the outcome of increasing low-level toxin threats was unknown. Subsistence shellfish harvesters, particularly in coastal and tribal communities, are most at risk.

http://greenacreradio.blogspot.com/2012/05/may-10-2012-noaa-scientists-discover.html

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

Razor clam closure would be costly – AP story in News Tribune

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Al B.

11/17 Associated Press–Study: Razor clam closure would be costly
THE NEWS TRIBUNE

A yearlong closure of recreational razor clam digging would result in as much as $22 million in lost revenue to counties on the Washington coast, says a study by NOAA and the University of Washington.

The razor clam season runs from October through May. But occasionally it is closed due to algae blooms that produce domoic acid, which makes the clams and other shellfish toxic. Eating the shellfish can make people sick and, in rare cases, result in death.

Dan Ayers, a biologist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, says the fishery is critical for many coastal businesses to survive during the offseason for tourism. The study estimates that on prime digging days, up to 30,000 people may head for the beaches.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/957737.html

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