Managing Shellfish for Healthful Consumption

Presented By Alison Sirois

Shellfish Growing Area Program Supervisor Bureau of Public Health

2

Shellfish + Water Quality = Public Health Issue

Shellfish are:

• filter feeders of

surrounding water

• concentrate pollutants

• frequently eaten raw or

partially cooked

• stored live until cooked

Structure of Shellfish Regulatory Agencies

Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) Governing Body

Managers, Industry and Scientists

NSSP Guide for the Control of Molluscan Shellfish “Model Ordinance”

Minimum Rules and Regulations for all States

Individual State Programs Interpretation of Model Ordinance Additional Rules and Regulations

Public Health Bureau Water Quality Classification Program

Program Goals: To protect shellfish consumers by ensuring the harvest, sale and distribution of shellfish come from safe sources

while supporting Maine’s shellfish industry.

Shellfish Growing Areas of Maine

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Growing Area Classifications

Approved: Areas open for direct market harvest

Conditionally Approved: Areas that meet approved

standards under certain predetermined conditions

Restricted: Areas closed to harvest except for purposes

of relay or depuration

Conditionally Restricted: Areas that meet restricted

standards except under certain predetermined

conditions

Prohibited: Areas closed to harvesting except for

depletion or seeding

NSSP Growing Area Classifications

Classification Status

OPEN - meets the conditions of classification

CLOSED – does not meet conditions of classification

• Condition identified in

management plan

• Failure to complete written sanitary survey or triennial reevaluation report.

Emergency condition or situation CLOSED STATUS

Classification of An Area • Water Sampling - Systematic Random Sampling

(SRS) Scheduled and year-round sampling

• Shoreline Survey – Growing areas surveyed a for pollution sources a minimum of once in 12 years

• Evaluation - water quality, pollution source and resource data

Systematic Random Sampling

Stations

• Monitor pollution sources • Monitor resource areas • To Establish classification

boundaries • Gather data in unknown areas • Determine whether

conditional areas are meeting their conditions

Water Quality Stations

• >1000 stations collected state-wide

• Boothbay and Lamoine labs

• 12 staff and 28 volunteers in the field year round

Water Quality Sample Data Membrane Filtration with mTEC auger

Approved Standard = 31 CFU/100ml

Restricted Standard = 163 CFU/100ml

P90 Station Class Count MFCount GM SDV MAX P90 Appd_Std Restr_Std Min_Date

WM004.00 CA 30 30 4.3 0.46 140 17.3 31 163 11/18/2008

WM004.10 CA 30 30 3.5 0.31 24 9.1 31 163 1/13/2009

WM004.50 CA 30 30 3.6 0.35 20 10.5 31 163 1/13/2009

WM004.80 CA 30 30 3.8 0.31 25 9.5 31 163 1/13/2009

“Stoplight” Layer

Frenchman Bay

• Based on WQ scores • New tool for

communicating with public

• Helps Aquaculture lease siting

• Helps towns make conservation decisions

• Trends over time throughout the Growing Area

Routine Surveys

• House to House Interviews within 500’ of shore

• GIS Pollution Source Tracking

• Entire Growing Areas Completed

Shoreline Survey (Every 12 Years)

Shoreline Survey Potential and Actual pollution

• Septic Systems • Straight Pipes • Streams • Farms • Marinas • Wildlife

Submit Problem Forms to:

• Town LPI/CEO • DEP • DHHS • DACF

Criteria water quality is declining

priority resource area confirmed by “flat” survey

• Pollution source data

outside 500’ • Interagency Cooperation • Pollution Source and

Accelerated Sampling • Shellfish Committees,

wardens, and volunteers

Shoreline Survey “Hot Spots” (Resource Areas)

Growing Area Classification

• Shoreline Survey Data • Water Quality Data • Meteorological (rainfall, wind) • Hydrographic (tides, river discharge) • Municipal WWTP • Industrial Pollution • Marinas • Storm-water • Streams • Agricultural Activities • Domestic Animals and Wildlife Activity • Recreational Use

Liberty Point (Robbinston) • 7300 acre prohibited area in St.

Croix River in place since 1970’s

• Closure due to poor water quality, lack of sanitary survey and OBDs

• Area surveyed in 2010

• DEP removed OBDs in 2011 and 2012

• Improved water quality and remediation of pollution sources led

to 600 acre opening in an area of

high resource

• New station established and extra sampling to expand opening northward to open an additional

170 acres of productive flats

River CLOSES >30,000 cfs

AND

B: CLOSED 10/1-12/31

C: CLOSED 10/1-12/31

D: CLOSED 9/1-12/31

G: CLOSES on Rainfall >1.5”

Kennebec River Study

Phippsburg, Georgetown and Arrowsic

2011

2012- 2013 1. Updated Shoreline Survey

2. Increased Sampling In the River

3. Special Study Work Sampling after

Flow Events

2014 Increase River Flow Closure Trigger

• Jan-April 60k

• May-Sept 40K

• Oct-Dec 30K

Establish < 14 Day Closure Time

• Lower River (Day 5, 8 and 10)

• Upper River (Day 5 and 10)

BONUS

Repealed All Other Conditional Areas

UNEXPECTED

Established conditions for both Phippsburg

and Georgetown (Heal Eddy)

Kennebec Study % Days Open To Harvest

Actual versus Prior Management Plan

83

64

93

58

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2012 actual "Old MP" 2012 2013 actual "Old MP" 2013

% o

f d

ays

op

en

Questions?