The Whatcom County Department of Health announced today biotoxin levels have decreased enough for the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) to lift the current closure.
Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) and Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) biotoxin levels in samples from Lummi Bay and Birch Bay have recently dropped enough to reopen the beaches to recreational harvest of molluscan shellfish including clams, mussels, oysters and scallops.
According to today’s announcement, “Recreational harvest remains closed due to dangerous levels of PSP biotoxin from Bellingham Bay south to the Skagit County line including Portage Bay and all of Larrabee State Park.”
Current biotoxin and pollution closures information can be found at the DOH website or by calling the DOH Biotoxin Hotline at 1-800-562-5632.