Pacific 



a. Acres are times 1 ,000; % is percent of all harvest-limited acreage in state. 



b. Since the same percentage of a shellfish area can be affected by more than one source, the percentages shown above 

 cannot be added. They will not sum to 100. 



Declines occurred in five of the 20 

 estuaries with classified shellfish- 

 growing waters. An increase in 

 approved waters occurred in Drakes 

 Estero as additional acres were 

 placed into production. Particularly 

 significant are the declines in ap- 

 proved waters in Yaquina Bay and 

 Skagit Bay, where 5,400 acres were 

 reclassified as restricted. Of the 

 Region's three largest estuaries (San 

 Francisco Bay, Columbia River, and 

 Puget Sound) only Puget Sound had 

 approved shellfish-growing waters. 

 These continued to decline. For 



example, urban runoff and shoreline 

 development caused downgrades in 

 Oakland Bay (820 acres) and Lynch 

 Cove (630 acres). Willapa Bay, the 

 most productive shellfishing area in 

 the region, also experienced declines 

 as a result of increasing shoreline 

 development. Over 2,000 acres have 

 been reclassified from approved to 

 restricted. 



As in other regions, most of the 

 changes in classification were a result 

 of management decisions based on 

 increased sanitary survey and sam- 

 pling activities. 



44 



