Squaxin Island Tribe Begins Shellfish Surveys in Vaughn Bay

Squaxin Island Tribe’s shellfish department will begin clam population surveys in Vaughn Bay, Pierce County this week.

The surveys will occur on privately owned tidelands within the bay. This area had previously been closed to commercial shellfish harvest due to water quality problems, but has recently been upgraded to approved status.

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Approximately sixty parcels have been identified as possible clam beaches and will be surveyed by the Natural Resources Shellfish department this summer. The goal of the department is to maintain treaty harvest rights in this area and provide harvest opportunities for Squaxin Island tribal members.

Squaxin Island Tribe comment on dioxin concentrations in Oakland Bay

SHELTON (April 1, 2009) – Preliminary data released today by the state Department of Ecology has identified dioxin in sediment throughout Oakland Bay.

Outside of Shelton Harbor, the dioxin is distributed uniformly with an average concentration of 35 parts per trillion (ppt or pg/g). “At first glance, the distribution pattern suggests the dioxin may be a historical legacy,” said John Konovsky, the tribe’s environmental program manager.

Oakland Bay is a very productive shellfish growing area. Studies elsewhere suggest there is very little connection between dioxin concentrations found in sediment and contamination in shellfish:

  • In a 2008 Ecology report on neighboring Budd Inlet, sediment samples weretested for dioxin and concentrations ranged from 3 to 60 ppt. Concentrations in littleneck/manila clam samples averaged 0.5 ppt.
  • In Similk, Fidalgo and Padilla Bays, a 2006 study by the Swinomish Tribe identified a range of concentrations of organic compounds including dioxin in sediment, but levels in shellfish from those same sites were more uniform and much lower. The report also suggested that health risks from sediment exposure – such as digging for clams – are even lower than eating shellfish.
  • A 2007 Humboldt Bay study concluded that dioxin concentrations in shellfish tissue were independent of dioxin levels in sediment. All the tissue directly tested and most reported in the worldwide literature was below concentrations considered to be a risk to human health. Without continual industrial output, dioxin levels in sediment and shellfish decline over time.

“It’s not surprising that shellfish accumulate very little dioxin and are safe to eat,” said Konovsky. “This is because dioxin builds up in fatty tissue and shellfish have a very low fat content.”

Scientists from the state Department of Health also believe that dioxin in the sediment of Oakland Bay does not pose a public health concern for shellfish consumers. When discovered in sediments elsewhere around Puget Sound, dioxin in shellfish has never been found at levels of public health concern.

“Oakland Bay has always been a favorite spot for tribal members to dig clams,” said Andy Whitener, natural resources director for the tribe. “The tribe is committed to working with state and federal governments to do whatever is necessary to clean up the bay. We want to absolutely guarantee the health of our tribal members and the entire community.”

(END)

For more information, contact: Andy Whitener, natural resources director, (360) 432-3800. Jeff Dickison, assistant natural resources director, (360) 432-3815. John Konovsky, environmental program manager, (360) 432-3804.

Reports Cited

Science Applications International Corporation. 2008. Sediment Characterization Study, Budd Inlet, Olympia, WA: Final Data Report. Department of Ecology, Olympia.

Swinomish Tribe. 2006. Bioaccumulative Toxics in Subsistence-Harvested Shellfish—contamination results and risk assessment. La Conner, WA.

Pacific Shellfish Institute. 2007. Status Report and Synopsis of Organic Pollutants in Relation to Shellfish Safety in the Mad River Slough and Humboldt Bay, California. Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District, Eureka.

Squaxin Island Tribe Installs Geoduck Show Plot Near Hartstene Island

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Photo 1. Geoduck Show Plot

On March 17th the Squaxin Island shellfish department began installation of a sub-tidal geoduck “show-plot” near the North end of Hartstene Island
(photo 1). This is useful in sub-tidal geoduck biomass surveys as it allows us to properly calibrate our surveys to local variations and account for temporal variability in show factors. These show plots are used to determine the number of geoduck that are actually present in a given area but that remain unseen or do not “show” (see photo 2).
Geoduck "show" marked by white stake

Photo 2. Individual Geoduck "shows" marked with white stakes.

Divers mark individual geoduck shows over time to determine the number of total geoducks in a defined area (photo 3). Once this number is known we can then return to count the number of showing geoducks and determine the show factor for that given day when conducting local geoduck surveys. This is just one of the many steps involved in surveying a subtidal geoduck tract.
Photo 3.  Eric Sparkman Marking Individual Geoduck Shows.

Photo 3. Eric Sparkman Marking Individual Geoduck Shows.

2009 Spring Beach Cleanup

Squaxin Island Tribe's Natural Resources boat loaded with trash found on the island

Natural Resources Department Boat Loaded With Trash From The Island

Twice a year PCSGA hosts beach cleanup events at the Arcadia launch.  Every year dumpsters are filled with various types of debris that has washed ashore.  Some of the source of this trash is from aquaculture activities and much of it  is from other sources. 

Squaxin Island employees and tribal members helped clean up the entire shoreline of Squaxin Island this year.  We had several boat loads of trash come off the island and everyone’s help was greatly appreciated.  Thanks to all for keeping Squaxin Island clean!

For more information on PCSGA beach cleanups see http://www.pcsga.org/pub/news_events/beach_cleanup.shtm

Eric Sparkman and Levi Keesecker from Natural Resources removing washed up net from Squaxin Island

Eric Sparkman and Levi Keesecker Retrieving a Net That Has Washed Ashore

 

Joe Peters and Daniel Kuntz from Natural Resources picking up trash on Squaxin Island

Daniel Kuntz and Joe Peters Cleaning Up Squaxin Island

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Sarah Haque Finding Trash On Squaxin Island

Increased Clam Mortality in Oakland Bay

Extremely cold weather combined with very low tides in November 2008 or the unusually large influxs of sediment from the December 2008 and January 2009 storms seems to be taking a toll on clams in Oakland Bay.  Growers report that there are many more dead clams than usual–maybe twice the ususal number especially in upper Oakland Bay and Chapman Cove.

The increase in clam mortality will set up an interesting experiment this summer.  There seems to be a relationship between clams dying and summer nutrient levels/bacteria concentrations in Oakland Bay.  If the hypothesis is correct, this summer’s bacteria concentrations should be higher than 2008 or 2007.   A hot and sunny summer will likely enhance the increase.  We will have the results of the experiment by October 2009.

Uncle John Creek Still a Leading Source of Water Pollution in Oakland Bay

Fecal Bacteria Concentrations (MF/100 ml) at Stream Mouths

oakland-bay-winter-08-09-results4

The Squaxin Island Tribe released their winter 2008-09 water sampling results to the Oakland Bay Clean Water District Advisory Committee on March 4th.  Five samples were collected at nine stream mouths between October 2008 and February 2009.  Two of the sampling days, 11/12 and 1/7, occurred during major storm events.  All the samples were analyzed for fecal coliform bacteria at the Department of Ecology Manchester Lab.

The sampling results from the storm days were much higher than the non-storm days.  This is a very common pattern in Western Washington because stormwater picks up large quantities of bacteria as it moves across the landscape.

The results indicate that Uncle John Creek is still a leading source of non-point water pollution entering Oakland Bay.  While there have been significant improvements over the last couple years that have taken Chapman Cove (downstream of Uncle John Creek) off the Department of Health’s water quality threatened list, there is still need for additional improvement to meet water quality standards.

Other creeks like Shelton, Malaney and Goldsborough also play a significant role in moving bacteria from the uplands to marine water.  Their contributions to water pollution must also be investigated and reduced in the near future to meet water quality standards.

Squaxin Island Geoduck Test-Plot Progress

"Planted" Geoduck Tubes
Geoduck tubes were removed from small test-plots on Squaxin Island in early January.  These tubes were put in prior to planting to help protect the baby geoduck from predation.  Generally tubes are removed after approximately 1 year as the clams have dug deep enough to avoid most predators.  Many individuals from Squaxin Island Natural Resources were present and helped make this night of beachwork  go smoothly.  Thanks for all the help!
John Konovsky Pulling Tubes

John Konovsky Pulling Tubes

 

Scott Steltzner Pulling Tubes

Scott Steltzner Pulling Tubes

Eric Sparkman Discussing Clam Biology With Daniel Kuntz and Sarah Haque

Eric Sparkman Discussing Clam Biology With Daniel Kuntz and Sarah Haque

Private Tideland Digs In Hammersley Inlet

Figure 1.  Oakland Bay With Hammersley Inlet Private Tidelands Area Shown By Red Arrow
Figure 1. Oakland Bay With Hammersley Inlet Private Tidelands Area Shown By Red Arrow

During the summer of 2008 Squaxin Island Natural Resources Shellfish employees conducted shellfish population surveys on several privately owned tidelands in Hammersley Inlet (Figure 1).  This area had previously been closed to harvesting due to some form of pollution (see http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/sf/default.htm for more information on area closures).  The recently upgraded approved status allowed us to identify the area and determine if a commercial density of clams occurred in this area.

 

Figure 2.  Green And Red Shaded Areas Indicate Closure Areas For Oakland Bay and Hammersley Inlet www.doh.wa.gov

Figure 2. Green And Red Shaded Areas Indicate Closure Areas For Oakland Bay and Hammersley Inlet www.doh.wa.gov

 

Other private Tidelands fall within a pollution closure area and are not safe for commercial harvest and subsequent consumption (Figure 2).  This is why we can harvest clams from some beaches and not from others in this particular area. 

            Harvesting from private tidelands is different than harvesting from areas like Squaxin Island or state held beaches like “the Dikes” or “the Westside”.   While a lot of planning must go into all commercial clam harvests, planning a private tideland dig takes extra work.  In some cases we communicate and coordinate with growers that the tideland owner has hired to “manage” their beach.  Sometimes we coordinate the digs with the owner.  Either way, a lot of planning must go into the event to ensure that all parties are informed.  Squaxin Island Tribe has rights to half of all naturally occurring shellfish on these particular tidelands.  Our goal is to ensure that we harvest our treaty share, while maintaining good relations with homeowners and hired growers.  Private tideland digs are also different because we must treat each private tideland as a separate beach (Figure 3).  Each beach has defined boundaries (property lines), and each tideland has a different available biomass (amount of clams we can harvest). 

Figure 3.  Individual Tidelands Depicted By Yellow Shading
Figure 3. Individual Tidelands Depicted By Yellow Shading

 This is why it is so important that we only dig in certain areas (within marked boundaries) and only dig the predetermined amount of clams on each separate tideland.  Harvesting outside of these boundaries is something we do not want to do, as that action could lead to legal problems for the tribe and ultimately less revenue for the tribe and tribal members.

            Conducting treaty harvests on private tidelands has the potential to be a valuable asset to Squaxin Island Tribe.  As shellfish growing areas become approved within our Usual and Accustom area, we could potentially harvest our treaty share in those areas.  More clam resources equal more revenue for tribal members and that is something we are promoting through these clam digging opportunities.

 

First Commercial Harvest On Squaxin Leased Tide Land

On November 20th the tribe had our first harvest on a piece of Tide land located in Oakland Bay leased from The Washington State Department of Natural Resources. 25 tribal members were given the opportunity to dig 180Ibs of manila clams using a hand held fork. The limit for this

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dug their limit in the allowed time. This is a unique opportunity for tribal members since the tide land is leased and not an allocation of the Medicine Creek Treaty.