CURRENT PROJECTS
Olympia Oyster Continuation and Expansion
Tarboo/Dabob Bay Fish Assessment
Port Townsend Bay Eelgrass Voluntary Anchor Protection Zone Pilot Project
Marine Stewardship
Shoreline Protection Alternatives
ONGOING PROJECTS
Forage Fish / Nearshore Information
Olympia Oyster Continuation & Expansion
The Olympia oyster ranges from Southeast Alaska to Baja California, and is the only oyster that is native to Washington. Formerly abundant, the Olympia oyster was an important food source for many coastal Native American tribes. By 1870, overharvesting had already significantly depleted oyster stocks in Puget Sound. Water pollution was another factor that had profound effects on oyster populations. Unregulated effluent from surrounding pulp and paper mills before the 1950s played a large part in the declines of the Olympic oyster. To augment their ailing stocks, oystermen began importing the larger and faster-growing Japanese or Pacific oyster in large numbers, which soon replaced the Olympia oyster in their cultivated beds.
| Volunteers prepare oysters for planting |
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The Jefferson County MRC is partnering with the Puget Sound Restoration Fund (PSRF) and Tribes to reintroduce the Olympia oyster into appropriate Jefferson County intertidalhabitat. During 2002, 25,000 seed were set in Discovery Bay. During 2003, 200,000 seed were set in Discovery Bay. We monitor the sites twice a year.
In 2006, the focus shifted to monitoring and conducting reproductive studies of a naturally occurring population at the head of Discovery Bay to better understand and design appropriate Olympia oyster enhancement activities..
Click on a link below for more details
Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee
Contact: Pat Pearson | 360.379.5610
201 West Patison | Port Hadlock, WA 98339