Willapa Bay Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Shucks! It’s been a bad year for hot shellfish

By Lauren Gallup August 7, 2024

Eric Hall, a manager for Taylor Shellfish, works his way loose after sinking into deep mud at low tide on May 1, 2015, in Willapa Bay. (Credit: Elaine Thompson / AP Photo)

Lurking within the deep, blue waters that lap along the Washington state coastline and into the Puget Sound, algal blooms burst in colorful explosions when the sun shines across the surface, giving these aquatic plants life. But these brightly colored blooms sometimes pack a dangerous punch. Read More

Willapa Bay Oyster Farmers Struggle As Shrimp Population Booms

By Molly Solomon June 18, 2019

Kathleen Nisbet Moncy is a second generation oyster farmer. Her family has been farming in Willapa Bay for the past four decades. CREDIT: KAYLEE DOMZALSKI/OPB

Of the 70,000 acres of mudflats in Willapa Bay, less than 10,000 acres are used for shellfish cultivation. Researchers estimate about a quarter of that farmable land has already been taken over by burrowing shrimp. But the battle over land between shellfish growers and the shrimp is not entirely new. Read More

New Hope To Stop Relentless Erosion Of Washington’s ‘Washaway Beach’

By Tom Banse May 23, 2018

This animation shows the extreme rate of coastal erosion at North Cove, Washington. The red line indicates the shoreline in 1990. CREDIT: GOOGLE EARTH

Aptly nicknamed Washaway Beach in Pacific County, Washington, has long suffered from the most extreme coastal erosion along the whole U.S. West Coast. Now a relatively low cost defense is raising hopes among property owners and nearby cranberry growers.Read More

Washington Says No To Poisoning Native Shrimp To Protect Oyster Beds

By Jes Burns April 10, 2018

A parasitic isopod with white legs under the shell of a mud shrimp. CREDIT: CASSANDRA PROFITA

Washington regulators have tentatively denied a controversial request by shellfish growers to poison burrowing shrimp that damage commercial oyster beds. Growers say controlling the shrimp is vital to the shellfish industry in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor.Read More