For eight long years, Holmes Harbor has lived under a stain of poor water quality. With red signs on the beach warning people away, favorite pastimes became distant memories.
But, at long last, the waters are finally clearing and state and local officials are preparing to reopen the beach for shellfish harvesting this spring. The six-week fishery is hardly what eager clammers have anticipated and is no doubt a sore disappointment for many, but it shouldn’t take away from this hard-fought victory. Indeed, both the county and the community have worked hard to improve water quality in the area, and the green light from state regulators is something to be proud of.
The story of Holmes Harbor’s water headaches are an old one, stretching back to 2006 with the release of a report, prompted by an application to commercially harvest geoducks, that revealed unacceptable levels of fecal coliform bacteria in the water. The beach was closed to shellfish harvesting and swimming, which resulted in the formation of the Holmes Harbor Shellfish Protection District in March, 2007 by the county commissioners.
While these special districts can be created electively, in this case the county was required to do so due to the poor water quality and the state’s subsequent closure of the fishery. Under state law, the county was required to launch a public information campaign and work to identify and ultimately address problems.
The county stepped up the to challenge, and with the community’s help, turned things around. The OK for swimming was given in late 2008, and the following year freshwater quality had improved so much that local officials believed state regulators would soon lift the shellfishing ban as well. But that was years ago, and it’s unclear what’s been holding things up.
State health officials were quoted in The Record saying they expected a conditional reopening in 2012 and again in 2013. Additional saltwater testing reportedly gave them pause.
Whatever the case, they have since given county leaders the nod. It’s unfortunate, however, that once the OK was finally given we now learn shellfish harvesting will be limited to a six-week window due to the unexpected takeover of varnish clams. Perhaps in a perfect world, the fishery could have been monitored during the long closure, thereby avoiding such a rude surprise on what should have been the moment of triumph, but no one could have anticipated such an event. According to biologists, there simply isn’t a lot precedence for varnish clams outcompeting local species.
It’s disappointing, but it is what it is.
Overall, the long story of Holmes Harbor’s water quality problems is one of success, and it’s an achievement that belongs to the county and community.
