Shellfish
This indicator describes opening and closure status and trends in commercial shellfish areas in Puget Sound, and trends in direct-harvest closures in Georgia Basin. The indicator also describes the implications of shellfish area closures for the economy, human health and community traditions throughout the Puget Sound Georgia Basin.

What is happening?

British Columbia (Georgia Basin)

1989-2004 Trends

Between 1989 and 2004, growing areas closed to commercial shellfish harvesting rose from 79,176 hectares (ha) (195,648 acres) to 123,832 hectares (305,995 acres). Before 1976, only 58,107 hectares had been closed to shellfish harvesting. This increase in closures is attributable more to expanded monitoring activities than degradation of water quality. The expanded monitoring also led to the approval of many previously untested areas for shellfish harvesting.

2004 Trends

During 2004, 71,818 hectares (177,466 acres), or 58 percent of overall BC closures, were located in the Georgia Basin. This is an increase from 63,159 hectares (156,065 acres) closed in 1989 in the basin. Improvements in total BC growing areas were seen between 1997 (112,519 hectares or 278,034 acres closed) and 1999 (101,855 hectares or 251,683 acres closed).

Trends in BC Shellfish Closures (Hectares)
Years	BC Total (hectares)	Georgia Basin Total (hectares)
1989	79176.2	63158.5
1990	81012.1	64816.4
1991	81631.3	65031.2
1992	82078.6	65360.0
1993	103576.0	65555.2
1994	105254.6	66746.9
1995	105939.0	67279.9
1996	110287.2	70466.3
1997	112519.0	70805.9
1998	111463.3	70238.6
1999	101854.9	69574.0
2000	103200.5	69767.7
2001	159029.8	70185.6
2002	123727.4	72165.9
2003	124276.9	71472.6
2004	123832.1	71817.9

Source: Environment Canada

Location of Closures

A larger, although unquantified, area is closed in more urbanized locations, including Burrard Inlet, Fraser River Estuary, Boundary Bay and the Victoria/Saanich Inlet. Outside Vancouver, BC, Howe Sound is closed to all shellfish harvesting north to Squamish and east to Port Moody.

Visit Shellfish Closure Areas in the Puget Sound Georgia Basin for basinwide and detailed maps on the bodies of water mentioned in this section.

Puget Sound

1995-2004 Trends

Between 1995 and 2004, 4,600 acres (1861 ha) were downgraded (to restricted classifications) and 12,400 acres (5018 ha) were upgraded for a net upgrade of 7,800 acres (3157 ha). Visit Puget Sound Commerical Shellfish Reclassification Due to Sanitary Conditions (PDF, 1 p., 930KB) to see a graph of upgrades (commercial growing area openings) and downgrades (commercial growing area closures), courtesy of the Puget Sound Action Team.

Since 1980, approximately 30,000 acres (12,141 ha) of commercial shellfish growing areas have been closed to harvest because of pollution. Visit Commercial Shellfish Growing Area Closed to Harvest in Puget Sound Since 1980 to see the trend data (PDF, 1 p., 741KB). Most of these closures occurred more than a decade ago. In recent years, the commercial acreage open for harvest has remained fairly steady.

In 1998, 4,469 acres (1808 ha) were opened in Eld Inlet, Samish Bay, Lynch Cove and Sequim Bay. In contrast, in 1999, 1240 acres (501 ha) were closed in Drayton Harbor, Burley Lagoon and Portage Bay.

Net Annual Change in Commercial Shellfish Bed Closures 1995-2004

Source: Puget Sound Action Team

2003 Trends and Locations of Openings and Closures

In 2003, 2139 acres (865 ha) were opened in Dyes Inlet and Portage Bay while 1,197 (484 ha) were closed in Dungeness Bay.By 2004, a total of 33 areas had been listed as threatened by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) under the early warning systems since its inception in 1997, based on water quality samples for fecal coliform. Many of the newly threatened areas are located in North Puget Sound and Georgia Strait, including Drayton Harbor, which had just reopened after years of restoration work (see the Drayton Harbor story in What Are We Doing About It?). Drayton Harbor had the highest fecal coliform results (>43 MPN/100ml).

The shellfish bed restoration target for Puget Sound is a net increase of 1000 acres (425 ha) for the 2005 through 2006 biennium.

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