A renewed state initiative centered on water quality and shellfish aligns with local work and research happening in and near Sequim’s marine waters.
On Jan. 15, Gov. Jay Inslee launched the second phase of the Washington Shellfish Initiative — a partnership established in 2011 between state and federal governments, tribes, the shellfish industry and nonprofits to promote critical clean-water commerce, elevate the importance of shellfish in keeping marine waters healthy and create family wage jobs.
“Shellfish are an important part of our economy and our heritage here in Washington,” Inslee said. “The shores of Puget Sound are a nexus point between the health of our citizens, the importance of natural resources to our economy and the health of our environment, all of which depend on the waters that feed us.”
Renewing the initiative both builds on its accomplishments and updates collective plans for healthy and abundant shellfish resources.
“We applaud Gov. Inslee for solidifying our state’s commitment to clean water and a future that includes healthy, abundant shellfish populations,” Sheida Sahandy, Puget Sound Partnership executive director, said. “The ability to harvest healthy shellfish is a significant part of our economy, our culture and our responsibility to uphold tribal treaty rights.”
Washington state goals reflected locally
Sahandy visited Sequim in November to recognize the local effort to improve the water quality in Dungeness Bay. Ongoing work by the Sequim-Dungeness Clean Water Work Group and cooperation from citizens allowed the Washington Department of Health to upgrade 728 of commercial shellfish harvestable acres within the bay, which experienced downgrades throughout the early 2000s.
Piping of irrigation ditches, monitoring, nearshore restoration, implementing best farm management practices and repairing failing septic systems all helped to reduce the amount of fecal coliform and overall non-point pollution entering the bay.
Although improved water quality in Dungeness Bay is a step in the right direction, Sahandy said plenty of work remains to achieve the state goal of a net increase of 10,800 harvestable shellfish acres by 2020, including 7,000 acres where harvest had been prohibited.
The upgrade in Dungeness Bay contributes toward 2,429 acres of commercial shellfish beds that have opened in the past four years in Clallam, Mason and Kitsap counties, according to Inslee.
The broad group of local entities and individuals working together on Dungeness Bay’s health directly aligns with the goals outlined by the Washington Shellfish Initiative, Kelly Toy, shellfish management program manager for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, said.
Initiative Phase 2 goals seek to improve water quality, embrace strategies to address ocean acidification’s effects on shellfish, advance shellfish research, improve the permitting process to maintain and grow sustainable aquaculture, restore native shellfish, enhance recreational shellfish harvest and educate.
“Really what happened in Dungeness Bay mirrors the initiative,” Toy said. “To me, you need these partnerships and people working together because you can’t solve these issues alone.”
Native shellfish and aquaculture
Among the successful outcomes during Phase 1 of the initiative was the opening of a native shellfish restoration hatchery. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Puget Sound Restoration Fund opened the hatchery to grow Olympia oysters and pinto abalone and provide support to native species restoration work, such as the longtime effort to restore Olympia oysters in Sequim Bay.
The Clallam County Marine Resources Committee and Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe have collaborated to up Olympia oyster populations in Sequim Bay since 2012. This year, the Clallam MRC has committed both time and funds to expand its Olympia oyster restoration effort into Washington Harbor, as well as continuing work in Sequim Bay.
“The things we do to restore Olympia oyster populations are usually the same things that help commercially harvestable shellfish populations, too,” Lyn Muench, Clallam MRC member, said. “Really, all the work goes hand-in-hand.”
Being smaller and slower growing than non-native Pacific oysters, Olympia oysters don’t compete among commercial and recreational markets, but its their ecological benefits are driving the need to restore their populations.
“There are great ecological benefits to having these oysters return to where they once were,” Ralph Riccio, shellfish biologist for Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, said.
For example, Riccio noted that many micro-organisms and forage fish are associated with natural oyster beds, as well as oysters’ ability to filter water and thus improve its quality.
Beyond active collaboration to restore native shellfish populations, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe also is working to secure shellfish harvest opportunities. Most recently, the tribe docked a floating upwelling system (FLUPSY) at John Wayne Marina.
The FLUPSY is nursery system used to grow clam and oyster seed prior to being sold and/or used to seed nearby and surrounding tidelands.
“If we don’t seed the beaches, then we don’t have harvest opportunities,” Toy said. “It has become necessary.”
A variety of factors drive the need to seed beaches, Toy explained, from problems with natural recruitment and poaching to environmental changes, like increased algae blooms, with some being harmful.
“I see the tribes moving more toward aquaculture because of all the environmental changes and threats to shellfish, like ocean acidification,” she said. “These are things we need to collectively be working on.”
Industry numbers
Washington was the first state to take action in December 2011 with its own initiative after NOAA implemented the National Shellfish Initiative aimed at increasing populations of bivalve shellfish throughout the nation’s coastal waters through sustainable commercial production and restoration activities.
The state leads the nation in farmed shellfish production, with approximately 10,500 metric tons of oysters, clams and mussels harvested in 2013, according the Washington State Shellfish initiative Phase 2 summary. Washington shellfish growers directly and indirectly employed more than 2,700 people and provided an estimated economic contribution of $184 million in 2010.
Shellfish nursery docks at John Wayne Marina
Once reaching 2,380 microns — or about the size of coarse sand — juvenile oysters and clams will be moved from where they were hatched at Point Whitney Shellfish Lab to a floating nursery docked at John Wayne Marina.
Upon arrival two 20- by 60-foot floating upweller systems (FLUPSY) owned and operated by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe will be used to grow the seed to 3-5 millimeters.
“The FLUSPY is proposed to provide shellfish seed for enhancing beaches to support tribal harvest as well as to meet small shellfish grower demand,” according to the City of Sequim staff report.
Equipped with a paddle wheel driven by an electric oil-free belt, the floating nursery recirculates water to oxygenate and provide the needed nutrients to the developing shellfish seed. For protection against predators the seed is kept inside metal frame silos with mesh screen.
Before operating the FLUPSY a public hearing for a Shoreline Substantial Development Permit required by the City of Sequim was held Jan. 5. The city planning commission followed the positive recommendation from the Department of Community Development and approved a five-year permit.
The permit is among a handful of local, state and federal requirements officials with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe have met to run the device. The deadline to appeal the approved Shoreline Substantial Development Permit is Jan. 26.
For more information contact Charisse Deschenes, City of Sequim senior planner, at 683-4908.
