bu Jennifer Dart
The Westerly News
June 15, 2005
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) recently announced two new
bivalve shellfish harvesting closures in Clayoquot Sound.
Randy Webb of DFO explains these indefinate sanitary closures, for the mouth of Atleo River in Millar Channel and Whitepine Cove in Herbert Inlet, are a result of "unacceptable levels of fecal coliforms" found in the area.
The restriction, which makes three for area 23 (including a small area in Warn Bay), applies only to bivalve (two shells) molluscs. Prawns, crab, and other shellfish are unaffected.
Jady Tyers of Environment Canada, who advises DFO on shellfish closures, says the local fecal coliform levels likely come from warm-blooded animals in the area such as bears and seals. Tyers says the village of Ahousat is too far from these areas for its effluent to be the cause of contamination.
Tyers says she's seen "a lot of improvements" in the water samples from Clayoquot Sound in recent years. Even those most recent closures still indicate fairly low levels of contamination, says Tyers, given the standards for shellfish are especially stringent.
"The stringent standard for shellfish growing water is necessary due to the filter feeding mechanism of bivalve shellfish which can concentrate bacteria," states the DFO website.
The website also points out bivalve shellfish harvesting is permanently prohibited within 300 metres of industrial, municipal, and sewage treatment outfalls.
Tyers reports the 15 water samples resulting in the closures were taken over a three-year period. The standard for shellfish harvesting is a median reading of 14 parts fecal coliform for 100ml of water for the duration of the testing period, and Tyers said for purposes of comparison drinking water levels must have zero fecal coliform units per 100ml of water and acceptable swimming water levels are 200 fecal coliforms per 100ml of water.
DFO also advises on
paralytic shellfish poison (PSP or red tide) and other marine biotoxin
closures, a complete list of which is available at www.pac.dfo-gc.ca.
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