The Shellfish Strategic Initiative is excited to announce the release of the updated Shellfish Beds Implementation Strategy.  

Click here to view the 2023 version and supporting resources.

This updated version comes after multiple years of partner review, input, topical workgroups, and public comment. Thank you to those who contributed their time and expertise to this process.

Building upon the 2015 version, the Shellfish Beds Implementation Strategy is a plan to accelerate success towards restoring and protecting harvestable shellfish beds in Puget Sound by preventing and reducing pathogen pollution, with the goal of achieving the Shellfish Beds Vital Sign target.

The five strategy categories include:

• Fund, support, and implement sustainable local Pollution Identification and Correction (PIC) programs,
• Ensure and maintain sufficient livestock manure management,
• Implement and support on-site sewage system (OSS) management and repair programs,
• Prevent boaters’ waste, and
• Implement wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) modifications that reduce precautionary closures zones adjacent to outfalls.

What was updated?

The goal of the update was to build upon the first version by:

• Ensuring that all standard sections are present, according to PSP’s “Guidelines for Developing an Implementation Strategy v.2”.
• Collaborating with partners to identify gaps, capture ongoing programs and propose new activities and programs to be represented in recovery approaches.
• Contributing to the 2022-2026 Action Agenda with up to date recovery outcomes, strategies, and activities for reducing pressures and barriers of shellfish bed recovery and protection in Puget Sound.
• Integrating Human Dimensions and Climate Change considerations.
• Providing a complete and up to date version for the Shellfish Strategic Initiative Lead, Advisory Team and broader recovery community to use.

The 2015 strategies were reviewed by an interdisciplinary team of partners and confirmed as continuing to be the need for addressing fecal pollution impacting shellfish growing area classification. Workgroups and partner input were used to develop important background information, key barriers faced, and recovery approached needed to make progress towards each set of strategies.

Did you Know?

Implementation Strategies are intended to serve the entire community of those interested in ecosystem recovery, both in relation to the focal Vital Sign and for Puget Sound overall. This includes local implementers and ecosystem recovery practitioners, regional implementers and regulators, researchers, legislators and policy makers, funding agencies, and resource managers.