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What is a Shellfish Protection District?

The Drayton Harbor Shellfish Protection District was formed in 1995 by the Whatcom County Council because the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Chapter 90.72 requires that the county legislative authority create a shellfish protection district within 180 days after the State DOH closes or downgrades a shellfish growing area due to a degradation of water quality as a result of pollution. The purpose of establishing a shellfish protection district is to create a forum to address point and non-point sources of pollution that may be affecting water quality over the shellfish beds, with the intent of developing strategies to help restore the areas for shellfish harvesting. The advisory committee, consisting of nine members, is comprised of local citizens and local governments with an interest in helping to improve the water quality of the harbor and the entire shellfish district. The ultimate goal of the committee is to make improvements to the water quality of the shellfish district to enable the shellfish beds to be re-classified to an approved status.

The Drayton Harbor Shellfish Protection District encompasses the entire Drayton Harbor watershed (see Figure 1), which drains approximately 35,102 acres, primarily from the Dakota and California Creeks. Click on Data/Maps to see additional maps of Drayton Harbor and the various water quality sample sites within the district.

The District provides an organized structure for communicating and addressing issues related to shellfish. The interaction between citizens and governmental agencies during committee meetings allows for quicker response to issues and helps to develop a shared commitment to resolving problems.

After the Drayton Harbor Shellfish Protection District was established in 1995, a Closure Response Strategy was developed as required by RCW 90.72 and as outlined in the Puget Sound Water Quality Management Plan (http://www.psat.wa.gov/Publications/manplan00/mp_index.htm), to address point and non-point source pollution within the Drayton Harbor watershed. The Closure Response Strategy identified 32 initial actions that were seen as the necessary first steps to addressing the pollution problems in the harbor. These actions were divided into several basic categories of potential pollution sources:

• On-site septic systems
• Municipal sewer systems
• Agricultural practices
• Stormwater runoff
• Boats and marinas
• Wildlife
• Other sources

To learn more about how the Drayton Harbor Shellfish District is working to address these various areas of concern, check out the Projects section to see what projects/programs are occurring in the district.