Puget Sound Restoration Fund

Volunteers from the Skagit Marine Resources Committee, the Samish Tribe and other groups throw seed oysters off the Tommy Thompson Trail’s trestle last week. About 150 bags of seed oysters were planted as part of an ongoing effort to reintroduce native oysters to Fidalgo Bay.

The areas on both sides of the Fidalgo Bay railroad trestle were seeded with fresh native oyster seeds Aug. 7 and 8 thanks to the efforts of volunteers from a number of organizations and the community.

On Monday morning, Betsy Peabody, Tristan Peter-Contesse, Jim Ramaglia and Lori Kyle picked up the oysters at the Lummi hatchery and brought them back to Anacortes via the Port Townsend ferry.

That afternoon about a dozen members of the Skagit Marine Resources Committee and other volunteers hauled about 150 bags of seed oysters to the trestle and Weaverling Spit.

“At the trestle, we used hand trucks and a cart to haul the bags of seed out onto the trestle where they were tossed over the side at high tide, said Paul Dinnel of the Skagit MRC and Shannon Point Marine Center. “On Tuesday morning about another dozen volunteers and folks from the following organizations assisted with scattering the seed at the trestle and Weaverling Spit and helped to document the activities.”

Partners in the effort included the Samish Tribe, Puget Sound Restoration Fund, the city of Anacortes, Skagit Beach Watchers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington Department of Natural Resources, the Nature Conservancy, the Shell refinery and students from KUOW.