LUMMI RESERVATION — The Lummi Nation has closed 335 acres in Portage Bay to shellfish harvesting due to worsening water quality.
The Bellingham Herald reports that the tribe consulted with the Washington health department and went forward with the closure after finding that fecal coliform bacteria levels exceeded federal standards for commercial shellfish harvest. The bacteria come from human and animal feces.
Portage Bay, just west of Bellingham and south of the Lummi Reservation, is home to Lummi Nation’s ceremonial, subsistence and commercial shellfish beds. The tribe says the closure impacts about 200 families on the reservation who make a living harvesting shellfish and up to 5,000 tribal members who rely on Portage Bay shellfish for ceremonial and subsistence needs.
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