Beach Watchers have been focused on an important monitoring project this summer in order allow for continued shellfish harvest and recreational boating use in Mystery Bay. At the invitation of the Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee (MRC), members of the class of 2010 stepped forward to monitor boats in the bay all summer, every weekend and on holidays. Many thanks to Sheila, Vicky, Jo, Roz, Craig, and Glenn and also to Mike Porter (’06) a member of the MRC and a Beach Watcher for all your hard work.
Why Count Boats? In 2009 some commercial shellfish operations in Mystery Bay were closed by the Washington Department of Health because of the high density of mooring buoys in the bay and the threat the vessels moored at the buoys could to pose to water quality. The outer bay was closed to commercial shellfish harvest, outside a line between Griffith Point and Mystery Bay State Park, but the inner bay was left open.
The number and location of unauthorized boats and mooring buoys in the bay exceeded national safety standards for a commercial shellfish growing area. The National Shellfish Sanitation Program standards are designed to prevent contamination of shellfish that could harm human health. An excessive number of boats -- 10 or more -- mooring in an area can produce enough sewage or other discharge to contaminate shellfish.
In the spring of 2010, after an extensive 10-month public process involving numerous stakeholders, the MRC was asked to coordinate the effort to remove derelict buoys and establish a Voluntary No-Anchor Zone. The No-anchor Zone was marked with buoys and boaters were directed to anchor at the Mystery Bay State Park.
The MRC turned to the WSU Jefferson County Beach Watchers to implement a volunteer vessel monitoring program to see how many boats were compiling. Beach Watchers were introduced to the project during their spring 2010 training. In April, seven volunteers attended a training session on how to count the boats in the bay. They developed an form and were able to enter their counts online. They will continue their work through October and the monitoring will be evaluated to see if the voluntary no-anchor zones are providing enough protection to ensure safe shellfish. Way to Go, Gang!
(thanks to Mike Porter for the photos)