Heal the Harbor

Oyster Pamphlet - Quartermaster Harbor.pdf

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A million oysters in inner Quartermaster Harbor would filter the inner harbor water about every 6 months.

Watch 20 oysters clean an aquarium in 5 hours (22-second video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAUq0X0GMFo

How do oysters remove harmful nitrogen (N) from sea water?

Ecological processes and water quality benefits associated with oysters. Source: https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/131227/136930

Oysters filter feed on particles that make the water green and cloudy.

1. Their N-rich food becomes tissue which gets harvested/eaten.

2. They metabolize N-rich food into solids that become crab food or sediment.

3. Microbes on their shells turn harmful N into harmless gas.

Citations

Donnelly H, Smyth A, Baker S, Reynolds L, Collins A. How do oysters remove nitrogen? EDIS. 2023;2023(1). doi:10.32473/edis-ss711-2023

Filippini G, Dafforn KA, Bugnot AB. Shellfish as a bioremediation tool: A review and meta-analysis. Environ Pollut. 2023;316(Pt 2):120614. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120614

Ray N, Hancock B, Brush M, et al. A review of how we assess denitrification in oyster habitats and proposed guidelines for future studies. Limnol Oceanogr Methods. 2021;19(10):714-731. doi:10.1002/lom3.10456

Social and Ecological Impacts of Shellfish and Shellfish Aquaculture

https://www.pacshell.org/ecosystem-services.asp

Valuation of Ecosystem Services from Shellfish Restoration, Enhancement and Management: A Review of the Literature

https://www.pacshell.org/pdf/ShellfishEcoServices.pdf

Project Examples

Puget Sound

https://pugetsoundestuary.wa.gov/shellfish-strategic-initiative/

Oysters

Fidalgo Bay, Washington

https://gis.ecology.wa.gov/portal/apps/storymaps/stories/aa4230d495f34aa3b79d28556af363a1

Sinclair Inlet, Washington

https://restorationfund.org/programs/olympiaoysters/#:~:text=PSRF%20partners%20with%20tribes%2C%20industry,the%20stations%20in%20early%20fall

City Island, New York

https://www.cioysterreef.org/

New Hampshire

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/new-hampshire/oyster-restoration-in-the-great-bay-estuary/

Chesapeake Bay, Mid-Atlantic 

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/how-volunteer-oyster-gardeners-work-to-restore-the-chesapeake-bay/3600301/

Florida

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/florida/stories-in-florida/floridas-oyster-reef-restoration-program/

Hong Kong

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/asia-pacific/hong-kong/stories-in-hong-kong/restoring-hong-kongs-lost-shellfish-reefs/

clams

Swinomish Clam Garden, Washington

https://nwtreatytribes.org/tribe-reviving-traditional-shellfish-resources-management-practices/#:~:text=The%20shells%20were%20dotted%20with,improved%20access%20to%20those%20resources.

Local News

Quartermaster: a harbor worth saving

https://www.vashonbeachcomber.com/opinion/quartermaster-a-harbor-worth-saving/

Could Mussels Heal an Ailing Quartermaster Harbor? Researchers Will Find Out

https://www.vashonbeachcomber.com/news/could-mussels-heal-an-ailing-quartermaster-harbor-researchers-will-find-out/

A floating field station takes shape as an experiment involving mussels begins

https://www.vashonbeachcomber.com/news/a-floating-field-station-takes-shape-as-an-experiment-involving-mussels-begins/

Funding for Puget Sound Region Shellfish Habitats Includes Vashon

https://www.vashonbeachcomber.com/news/funding-for-puget-sound-region-shellfish-habitats-includes-vashon/

Islander Proposes Shellfish Operation in Tramp Harbor

https://www.vashonbeachcomber.com/news/islander-proposes-shellfish-operation-in-tramp-harbor/

Reports

2013 Hydrodynamic Model Report - Quartermaster Harbor

https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/publications/documents/1303026.pdf

https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/publications/documents/1103062.pdf

Biotoxins

Shellfish Safety Map

https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/biotoxin/biotoxin.html

Quartermaster Harbor Annual Shellfish Growing Area Review

https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-08/qtmstr.pdf

Nitrogen

2014 Quartermaster Harbor Nitrogen Management Study

https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dnrp/nature-recreation/environment-ecology-conservation/watersheds/central-puget-sound/qmh-nitrogen-study

Reducing Nutrients in Puget Sound (WSDoE) https://ecology.wa.gov/ecologys-work-near-you/river-basins-groundwater/puget-sound/helping-puget-sound/reducing-puget-sound-nutrients

Heavy metals

Investigating Heavy Metal Contamination of the Puget Sound Environment with New Isotopic Tracers

https://intranet.ess.uw.edu/content/people/student_publications_files/weber--rachel/Weber_2008.pdf

Behavior of Heavy Metals in Marine and Lacustrine Sediment Cores, South Puget Sound, Washington

https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2006CD/webprogram/Paper104605.html

Quartermaster Harbor: Dockton; A Reconnaissance Survey of Nearshore Sediments

https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/publications/documents/86e38.pdf

Other Legacy Contaminants

Quartermaster

https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dnrp/nature-recreation/environment-ecology-conservation/science-services/puget-sound-marine-monitoring/tissue-topic-page/copy-of-fish-tissue#:~:text=Some%20metals%20occur%20naturally%20in,pain%2C%20vomiting%2C%20and%20diarrhea.

https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dnrp/nature-recreation/environment-ecology-conservation/science-services/puget-sound-marine-monitoring/sediments-topic-page/intertidal-sediment-chemistry

Ellisport Creek

https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/cleanupsearch/site/2204

Fireworks

The Chemistry and Environmental Impact of Fireworks

https://www.compoundchem.com/2013/12/30/the-chemistry-of-fireworks/

https://www.compoundchem.com/2017/01/05/fireworks-environment/

Policy

Restoring Native Shellfish in Puget Sound https://videos.fisheries.noaa.gov/detail/videos/top-picks/video/4584520430001/restoring-native-shellfish:-the-kenneth-k.-chew-shellfish-hatchery?autoStart=true

Olympia Oyster Restoration Goals

https://restorationfund.org/programs/olympiaoysters/

How to Prevent Stormwater Pollution

https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/water-and-land/stormwater/stormwater-pollution-prevention-manual/2021-stormwater-pollution-prevention-manual.pdf

Friends of the Harbor

We are building a coalition to restore the ecological health of Vashon-Maury waters.

Contact: info@v-mcc.org

Last updated 2/25/2026