INTRODUCTION 

 Because of concern about water quality conditions and possible 

 deleterious effects on salmon, there has been considerable investigation 

 of the water conditions of Grays Harbor. Particular attention had been 

 directed to the problem of low dissolved oxygen content In the upper 

 portion of the estuary. During the summer of 196A and 1965, a study of 

 the general hydrography and the primary productivity of Grays Harbor was 

 carried out by the Washington Department of Fisheries as a contribution to 

 the Grays Harbor Cooperative Study Program.— This study was undertaken 



— A cooperative Investigation of the pollution problem in Grays Harbor 

 by Washington State Departments of Fisheries and Game, Washington State 

 Pollution Control Commission, United States Geological Survey, and 

 Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. 



to gather further Information on the general water conditions of the harbor, 

 to gain information on the nutrients and conditions Important to primary 

 productivity, to determine the levels of primary productivity; and, since 

 low dissolved oxygen is a major problem in parts of Grays Harbor, ultimately 

 to determine the contribution of oxygen from phytoplankton photosynthesis. 

 The complete data collected have already been presented in Washington State 

 Department of Fisheries Hydrographic Data Bulletin, Vol. V, No. 1 (Westley 

 and Tarr, 1965). This present report gives a summary and analysis of that 

 data from the above bulletin which relates to primary productivity In Grays 

 Harbor, with particular attention to the contribution of oxygen from phyto- 

 plankton photosynthesis. For comparative purposes a summary and analysis 

 of similar data from Willapa Bay is also presented. 



Grays Harbor is a broad, shallow estuary located on the Washington 



coast about 35 miles north of the mouth of the Columbia River. Surface 



2 

 area of the harbor is about 90 miles , maximum water depth Is about 60 ft 



and a majority of the bottom is exposed at low tide. The estuary is fed 



directly from the Pacific Ocean. Major tributary streams are the Chehalls, 



Wlshkah, Hoqulam, and Humptulips rivers. 



METHODS 

 The location of the stations used in the study is shown in Figure 1. 

 Each station was sampled at four depths simultaneously. Water properties 



