The Suquamish Tribe has constructed a new seafood plant to increase the variety of products offered to consumers. “With the new plant, we have the ability to deliver fresh clams, crab and salmon to our commercial customers,” said Suquamish Seafoods general manager Tony Forsman. “We also plan to develop our product lines further, making them […]
Whatcom County’s booming dairy and agricultural industry has cost Lummi Nation shellfish harvesters millions of dollars already, and a recent closure of shellfish beds in Portage Bay is adding to the tally. Manure from dairy cows is discharged either directly or indirectly into the Nooksack River, which flows into Portage Bay. In September, the tribe […]
Researchers from Oregon State University (OSU) are studying shellfish contamination on the Swinomish reservation and nearby Fidalgo Bay. Both the Swinomish Tribe and Samish Nation have partnered in the project with OSU’s Superfund Research Program, focusing on clam contamination on tribal lands. Butter clams were sampled from sites in Fidalgo Bay near an oil refinery, […]
High levels of fecal coliform prompted the Lummi Nation to close 335 acres of Portage Bay shellfish beds in September. The fecal coliform – mostly from livestock, human and pet waste originating upstream from the reservation – exceeds federal bacterial standards, meaning the shellfish could be unsafe to eat. The voluntary closure affects Lummi’s treaty-protected […]
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is re-using old cinderblocks to clean up popular shellfish beds and delineate harvest areas. With crews from the Department of Ecology’s Washington Conservation Corps/Veterans Conservation Corps (WCC/VCC) and NW Straits Commission, tribal shellfish staff spent a week in July situating the concrete blocks and removing debris from Quilcene and Sequim bays. […]
The Skokomish Tribe has strategically placed nearly 100 cinderblocks on the Skokomish tidelands with hopes of attracting an invasive shellfish, the ornate Japanse oyster drill. “Oyster drills are known to seek out hard vertical structures to gather and lay their egg cases, so by experimentally baiting them with cinder blocks, we’re hoping to lessen their […]
The never-realized plans to build a nuclear power plant on Kiket Island has a legacy that’s proven useful to the Swinomish Tribe. The 1969 power plant proposal attracted researchers to study the island’s ecology. Among these was then-graduate student Jon Houghton, who established permanent transects around Kiket Island to study intertidal ecology and measure, among […]
The Kitsap Sun reported on the recent in-person meeting between U.S.’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Chinese officials about China’s ban of geoduck imported from the United States’ West Coast. While China was satisfied with testing for paralytic shellfish poisoning, the biggest issue was testing for arsenic, the Kitsap Sun reported. The United […]
The Skokomish Tribe is upgrading its water quality lab to a state-of-the-art facility. The tribe recently purchased high-end water quality lab equipment from the Shoalwater Bay Tribe to conduct more sophisticated work, such as looking for cancer-causing compounds. “It’s a major deal for Hood Canal,” said Ron Figlar Barnes, the Skokomish Tribe’s EPA coordinator. “It’s […]
The Swinomish Tribe is developing a subsistence manila clam fishery on Lone Tree Point. “We’re using habitat we already have to increase opportunities for our tribal members to gather shellfish,” said Lorraine Loomis, fisheries manager for the tribe. “Shellfish always have been part of our traditional diet and culture.” In 2011, shellfish biologist Julie Barber […]
