The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) issued an emergency closure of commercial and recreational shellfishing in Drayton Harbor on Jan. 7. The closure applied to all species of molluscan shellfish and lasted until Jan. 27.
The DOH is still investigating the issue. The closure was in response to reports of Norovirus-like symptoms after eating raw oysters harvested from Drayton Harbor between Dec. 28–30, 2024.
Drayton Harbor Oyster Co., which farms its oysters in Drayton Harbor, closed its restaurant on Jan. 13 to do a deep clean.
“The farm has still been operating, doing all the chores that go along with oyster farming,” said Steve Seymour, one of the restaurant’s co-owners.
The restaurant opened up again on Saturday, Jan. 25.
“Without oysters,” Seymour said. “Just selling our standard fare.”
On Monday, they began serving oysters again. Seymour said they’re happy to be back.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shellfish are one of the three foods most commonly involved in Norovirus outbreaks, along with leafy greens and fresh fruit.
“When something like this happens, they’ll close the bay for three weeks to give — if it is the water or the oysters — them the time to purge and clean up,” Seymour said.
Oysters are filter-feeders; they eat by filtering seawater through their bodies. When untreated human sewage gets into the water, oysters can collect pathogens like Norovirus in their systems. This can come from many sources, including stormwater overflow and agricultural runoff.
Scott Berbells, the growing area section manager for the DOH, said he doesn’t think the level of concern surrounding Norovirus in shellfish is different from previous years.
“Norovirus comes up; we seem to have outbreaks every year,” Berbells said. “It happens, and we try to control it.”
There have been several small Norovirus outbreaks in Washington State this year but no large ones. There is an overall rise in Norovirus cases throughout the U.S. The NoroSTAT report from Aug. 1 to Dec. 11, 2024, observed 495 outbreaks, compared to 2023 which saw 363.
Every harvest of oysters must be tagged, Berbells said. These tags contain information about where the oysters were harvested, when and who harvested them.
If someone reports feeling sick after eating oysters at a restaurant; the restaurant can then send the tags from that day’s batch of oysters to the DOH.
“That’s where our investigation starts,” Berbells said.
After the DOH’s licensing program gathers more information about what happened, Berbells’ team determines if it can be attributed to the growing area.
“We try to figure out what happened in the environment during that harvest; what could be the potential cause,” Berbells said. “If we find the cause, we fix the cause.”
When something like this happens, involved agencies like the DOH move swiftly to get the word out. The DOH has a Facebook page that posts health and safety announcements.
The shellfish safety map, by the DOH and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), is the holy grail for information about beach closures.
“I think there’s always an opportunity to get information out faster and better,” Berbells said.
Drayton Harbor is home to a small amount of Olympia oysters, which Drayton Harbor Oyster Co. cultivates. Olympia Oysters are a Species of Greatest Conservation Need under the State Wildlife Action Plan.
Unlike Pacific oysters, which are sold in seafood restaurants, Olympia oysters are protected from harvesting. Additionally, Pacific oysters are from Japan, unlike our native Olympia oysters.
Julieta Martinelli, Ph.D. is the Olympia oyster program lead at the WDFW. Martinelli works to support Olympia oyster restoration efforts in collaboration with the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, shellfish growers and other parties.
“Olympia oysters have been abundant in Washington and the West Coast for millennia,” Martinelli said. “They were overharvested around the mid-1800s, and the population has declined to about 4% of what they originally were.”
Drayton Harbor is one of 19 Olympia oyster restoration sites in Puget Sound.
Many of the other 19 sites are contained in areas currently under a variety of closures, including biotoxin closures.
Norovirus is not the only illness associated with shellfish consumption. Always follow proper safety guidelines when harvesting, purchasing, storing and preparing shellfish.
Hope Rasa (she/her) is a City News reporter for The Front this quarter. She is a second-year Western student majoring in news/editorial journalism. She enjoys running, hiking, reading and spending time with her cat. You can reach her at hoperasa.thefront@gmail.com.
