Commercial oyster harvesting areas begin reopening

OLYMPIA – The state Health Department has reopened oyster harvesting in several areas that were closed in July because of a bacterial outbreak.

Samish Bay, Quilcene Bay, Mystery Bay, Annas Bay and certain growing areas along Hood Canal are now open for commercial harvesting under special guidelines.

Oyster harvesting remains closed for recreational beaches and commercial growing areas in most of Hood Canal, Port Gamble, Dabob Bay, Oakland Bay, Skookum Inlet, Hammersley Inlet and Totten Inlet.

Closed areas won’t be reopened until two consecutive oyster samples are free of vibrio parahaemolyticus, a naturally occurring bacterium that can cause an illness called vibriosis in people who eat raw oysters.

In healthy adults, vibriosis can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, headache, fever and chills. The illness can be fatal to those with chronic liver disease or compromised immune systems, but deaths are rare.

Meanwhile, marine biotoxin levels that prompted other closures of shellfish harvesting in central Puget Sound have begun to decline.

Concerns about paralytic shellfish poisoning, caused by a toxin that cannot be destroyed by cooking, shut down shellfish harvesting in Kilisut Harbor in the Port Townsend area. That closure has been lifted, except for Mystery Bay.

“It is critical that the public realizes that there are two different types of outbreaks going on in Puget Sound waters at this time,” said Maryanne Guichard, director of the Health Department’s Office of Shellfish and Water Protection. “The PSP outbreak in the central sound is the most severe and can be fatal.”

State Health Department officials say more closures related to PSP are expected to be lifted in the next few weeks.

Shellfish from areas where toxin levels were very high may take some time to detoxify to safe levels. Officials say those areas will remain closed even after toxic algae blooms dissipate.