Puget Sound's low tides are back, with a risk for shellfish harvesters
If you missed last month's round of low tides, this week offers another opportunity to slip on your boots and gaze at dazzling anemone, glistening sea stars and many-legged crabs.
The season's lowest tides will be Monday and Tuesday around noon, but Sunday morning offers an opportunity too. Each day, tides will be below three feet, offering ample opportunity for geoduck, clam and oyster harvesting, if you've got the appropriate license. These will be the lowest tides Seattle has experienced since 2022.
Harvesters should exercise caution, though. Several beaches on Hood Canal are closed to harvesting because Department of Health officials detected lethal levels of paralytic shellfish poison in bivalves. If you plan to harvest, check the DOH Shellfish Safety Map before heading out to learn if any beach areas are closed.
The super-low tides come at the start of the week. For Seattle, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the tide will reach -4.3 feet at 11:33 a.m. on Monday and 12:22 p.m. on Tuesday. Most Puget Sound tides are low within an hour of the predicted Seattle low tide, occurring earlier in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Admiralty Inlet.
Camille Speck, a Puget Sound shellfish biologist with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said Friday that the paralytic shellfish poison levels warranted an unprecedented" closure of beaches along Hood Canal.
It's incredibly dangerous to consume shellfish from areas where the biotoxin is detected at high levels. The biotoxin occurs when shellfish eat some species of algae that produce the toxin, so it accumulates in the shellfish tissue. High levels of paralytic shellfish poison can cause severe illness and even death.
As of Friday afternoon, biotoxin levels prompted the Department of Health to close Hood Canal in Kitsap County from Foulweather Bluff South to the Mason County line; and in Jefferson County, to close Port Ludlow, Mats Mats Bay and Hood Canal south to the Mason County line, including Dabob Bay and Quilcene Bay. No shellfish should be harvested in those areas.
South Puget Sound was largely clear of biotoxins on Friday. Shellfish harvesters should also exercise caution around vibrio bacteria, which grows quickly in oysters during high temperatures. Unlike the biotoxin, vibrio can be killed if oysters are cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds.
Mason, Kitsap and Jefferson County authorities have posted warning signs at public beaches that are closed. The toxin cannot be detected by sight, smell or taste and can be identified only through laboratory testing. Cooking, freezing or cleaning shellfish does not destroy or remove the toxin, according to the Washington Department of Health.
Symptoms of the toxin typically include tingling or numbness of the lips and tongue, which may progress to the hands and feet. In severe cases, it can cause difficulty breathing, paralysis and death. Anyone experiencing symptoms after eating shellfish should seek immediate medical attention or call 911.
If you plan on harvesting, the four-hour window around low tide is your best bet. The Department of Fish and Wildlife encourages shellfish gatherers to spread out harvest pressure - which has increased in recent years - by visiting less-popular public beaches.
In addition to license requirements, there are size limits, daily limits and other regulations to follow while harvesting, which you can review at www.wdfw.wa.gov.
There's no threat to people on closed beaches if they are not consuming shellfish, Speck said.
"It's going to be an incredible week at the beach," Speck said. "There will be so many cool critters showing.
The Seattle Aquarium's beach naturalist program will be active during the low tides. Representatives will be available to answer questions and educate about the shoreline at:
* Des Moines Beach: Saturday, June 13 from 9 to 11:30 a.m.; and Tuesday, June 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
* Golden Gardens: Saturday, June 13 from 9 to 11:30 a.m.; and Monday, June 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
* Lincoln Beach: Sunday, June 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
* Olympic Sculpture Park's Pocket Beach: Saturday, June 13 from 9 to 11:30 a.m.; Sunday, June 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Monday, June 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Tuesday, June 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
* Richmond Beach: Sunday, June 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; and Tuesday, June 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
* Seahurst Beach: Monday, June 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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